Just Past Insanity
by 1908RainSplat
Summary: Ellie Payton is a mechanic, looking for a job. When she's directed towards N.E.S.T, what'll happen? Or when she finds out about an alien war on Earth, an she gets into the middle of it? Optimus/OC Rated T for language and later chapters
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Transformers! I only own my OC Ellie and her ponies and horses! **

**This is a test chapter, just that! I combining my love for horses and Transformers, clashing them together and... we're off and ru****nning! And if you can't imagine Ellie's house, imagine a square, 2 story house, and on three sides there is nothing but horse field. In her kitchen, yes, all the wall are glass, because she gets to see her horses that way!  
**

**Please Review, Favorite or Follow and Thank you**

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Ellie didn't know you could be this angry. She didn't know that humans could achieve this level of hatred. She remembered her Mom convincing her to take the job interview. She was in desperate need of employment, only working odd jobs, to keep her from completely broke. At 24, she owned a house by herself, inherited it from her Grandmother, and she had put alot of money into it, but, now that **that** was done, she needed money for herself and her friends.

Yet her Mom didn't seemed to have mentioned that her interview was with the military, 2 brute-like men sitting a table over, the actual interviewers sitting in front of her

"Pardon?" she asked, not catching what the man in front of her had just asked. 'Gee, good impression, El!' she mentally scolded herself. The man in front of her seemed, for a lack of better words, 'good'. His hair was mussed, but it wasn't unclean, almost like he wanted it to look like that. He wore Army Greens, and the name tag on his chest, off to the side that spelt 'W. Lennox'. He looked at back at Ellie and smiled a little.

"What are some jobs you've done, which require vast knowledge of car engines? Here in your file it says that you created your own engines? How'd you do that?" he asked, looking down at the stack of white papers that were neatly printed and stapled together.

"I-" Ellie took a deep breathe. She never was good at explaining what she did. She was better at shutting up and showing them. She was a Kinesthetic learner. If you gave her something 'hands on' to do, it was easy, like a jigsaw puzzle, and helped her memorize what goes where.

"I weld parts together. Simple as that." she said, leaning back in her seat "I take parts that normally wouldn't go together in dealership engines, and fuse them together, almost like my own make of an engine. Hybrids, if you will. Before I get in it, the engine's tested on a race track, keying 3 things that need to be changed, altered or un-touched. Horsepower, Turbocharge and Fuel injection. They all get altered, if they can. Every time something new goes in the engine, the car goes back to the track for a test run. What good is a fancy engine if it blows up the second it hits 105 mph? That's it." she finished, leaning back in her seat a little more. That was easier then she thought. But when he didn't respond and looked at the man accompanying him, a red flag flew around her mind.

The man beside Lennox was obviously part of the Military as well. He wore the same Army Greens as the Lennox and had a bald head. His name tag read 'R. Epps'. They spoke back and forth, whispering. Ellie felt a nervous feeling settle in her stomach, and she cracked her fingers under the table, a bad habit she picked up from her father when she was 9.

Both men looked back at her and Epps nodded.

"We'd like you to come back to our base and take a look at the specialized vehicles used in our faction of the Military. In precaution to safety, you will be blindfolded, but with your experience and knowledge, we can't afford to turn the offer down to you." Lennox explained, proving to her that he was the Commanding officer. She nodded, more to herself, thinking about it.

Something in the back of her mind was screaming at her to take the opportunity. She needed the money, and frankly she wanted a job where she didn't have to sit in an office all day. She wanted to work on engines again, her car was updated and didn't need new parts. There was nothing she could do to make it better. She looked up at Lennox and nodded, much more firmly this time

"I'll do it" she said, nodding. Lennox nodded and stood up, Ellie following his lead. He gestured for her to sit on the bench of the military vehicle he had shown up in, and she did, before they placed the blindfold over her closed eyes. At that exact moment, something told her she shouldn't have said yes. But, when she was lifted into the car, she knew it was to late to turn down.

She felt something brush against her knee, indicating that someone was, more then likely, sitting next to her. She heard the bench of the car she was sitting on groan in protest to the extra weight placed on it. She tensed when she felt a shoulder touch hers, her first thought being that it was one of those large, brutes. She felt the an arm fly around her shoulders, an the next words were somewhat of comfort to her, for two reasons.

"Your Mom said you were quite a good mechanic"

The first reason Ellie relaxed at these word was because this meant even her _Mom_ was confident that she could get this job. The second reason was because the accent of this voice told her it was R. Epps, not a big brute.

Epps saw her relax upon his sentence and smiled. He knew how stressful job interviews were and how much pressure it was to have to, not only impress someone, but to also have to show what you know in order to get that job.

It didn't take too long before Lennox pulled the car to a stop. Epps jumped out, grabbing Ellie's hand lightly to help her down without tripping or falling. She tightened her grip just a little when she jumped down from the big Jeep.

Lennox held back a laugh as he saw the size difference between the little 5ft 2, 24 year old, compared to Epps' big 5 ft 11 frame.

Ellie hear Epps chuckle and glared at the direction she thought he stood. Well glared at him as well as she could through the blindfold. She felt someone grab her elbow, directing her to the left of her original direction, and she walked with them, occasionally having to run a step or two to keep up with whomever's stride it was that was directing her. After a few minutes of walking, one door being opened and being closed and people being shooed out of Ellie felt the blindfold slip off, and when she opened her eyes, she swore her pupils were as small as the slits of a cat's eye in the middle of the day. She hissed just a tiny bit, closing her eyes tightly and blinking rapidly and repeatedly. I took a bit, but her eyes adjusted.

As soon as the bright light faded, what Ellie saw made her want to cry, scream and hug any of them and never let go. Brand new, mostly custom painted vehicles sat briskly in the empty hangar, almost tensely.

"So..." she dragged out "The military use _sports cars_ to fight?" Lennox and Epps couldn't help but laughed.

"These are highly confidential special needs cars used on every mission that is dropped onto my desk and requested to be done" Lennox said, watching as Ellie walked up to the vehicles. She rested a hand on the silver Stingray Corvette, eyeing each of the scratches, dents and gashes on the vehicles exterior.

"So what exactly do you want me to** do**, with them? I mean," she said, as she walked around the silver flash of a car, trailing her hand lightly on metal "Considering these are _specialized_ vehicles, I would **assume** there is no hood popping, at least for the time being. So what would I do with them?" she moved onto the big black truck, starring at the gashes on the front, before running a thumb over the GMC symbol in the middle of the grill.

"Just, tell us what needs to be one to get these guys back to tip top shape." Lennox sighed, realizing she was probably thinking what 7 other people had thought. _What the hell am I doing if it's just the exterior? That's not worth my time_

Ellie, took in his face. He looked like he was pleading. She turned back around, doing a once over of the hood, before taking extremely small steps around the truck, tracing a hand around it. She felt bumps that weren't visible, almost like swelling on a human's head when it gets hit with a more then normal amount force. Gashes, scrapes and cuts seemed to be the worst of it, and the occasional paint chip here and there.

Lennox and Epps looked at each other and in her peripheral vision she them smiling at each other. She focused back on the black tailgate, finishing her circle around the behemoth of a truck, turning her head to look at Lennox

"Most of the metal can be saved, some touch ups here and there, he does need to be repainted, and with some proper supplies I can fix the gashes and stuff. Over all, the truck itself looks fine. I can fix 'em in maybe 3 days all together, if they're all as nice as the truck."

"Which truck?" Epps asked, smirking. Lennox gave him a warning look, catching Ellie off guard, before raising her eyebrows. Epps lifted a hand, his pointer finger extended towards the right of where they were standing. Lennox growled out a 'Epps' and slapped his hand down, but it was too late. Ellie took a step forward, around the Topkick, to look at what Epps gestured towards.

What Ellie saw made eyes widen in shock and admiration. A 2001 Peterbilt 379 Long Nose sat still, the sheer size of it almost swallowing her up. The paint was chipped in various places, almost everywhere, and the metal looked bruised, and Ellie got the sense that if the truck had been alive, it would be tired. She walked over, Lennox looking over at Epps and lifting his hand to smack him upside the head.

She placed her hand over the grill, her eyes scanning over what she could see. At the top of the grill, on the chromework, was a almost-square face, staring back her, making her feel... almost safe.

Epps and Lennox saw this interaction, and were surprised on how quiet it had gotten. Almost as if a connection had been made. She turned around, and smiling at the two men in Army greens.

"So, _this_ giant is a **spy car?**" she asked, holding a giggle back down her throat. Epps laughed at her remark, Lennox smiling at her. Both of them had a good feeling about her, her skills and even just her attitude made them relax about if she was going to accept the offer or not.

"Maybe, chica, maybe" Epps said, shaking his head. Lennox smiled again, making eye contact with her. She smiled up at him and he nodded.

"If you come with us, we'd like to have you sign a contract." he said. She felt a whole wave of relief wash over her, nodding at him and walking behind him, Epps swooping around to walk behind her.

Her arms were crossed over her chest, and Epps ran up to her, sliding his arm under hers, like a father would to his daughter while walking her down the aisle at a wedding. She smiled up at him, giggling a little, before dropping the smile.

"Whats wrong?" he asked, to which she turned to look at him, her mouth forming a frown

"My mother lied to me!" she growled "I was told I'd be having a lunch interview, not dropping my lunch to come get a job. A much needed job, mind you, but now I'm **hungry**" she huffed through her nose, pouning like a little kid

"Aww!" Epps said, smiling "look at the little pouty lips Lennox!" Epps teased, causing Ellie to growl and glare up at him. He laughed and threw his head back

"I'll go out and getcha lunch, kay? Once you're signing the stack of papers Lennox plans to torture you with." he said; Lennox laughing and turning around to walk backwards.

"The sad part is, Epps isn't wrong" he laughed, waiting for Ellie to catch up, sliding his arm underneath hers, trapping her in between the two Army men. She groaned, and dropped her head, letting them drag her to another room, looking back at the cars, forming a semi-circle, before sighing again.

* * *

By the time Ellie had finished the papers, she was ready to go home and sleep. Epps had gone out and bought her a lunch, much like he promise, only he had to go out twice. The first time he went, he'd come back with McDonald's, a 20 piece nugget, large fries and an Oreo McFlurry, only for her to pick up the McFlurry, scrunching her nose up at the nuggets.

Epps had made the mistake of asking her what was wrong

"What's wrong?" she yelled, standing up from her chair "Do you even know how that stuff is cooked? Or whats even in it?" And when Epps snorted, she curled up her fist and punched him, hard and right in the left arm. "I am a Vegetarian!" she shrieked, pushing the meat away and turning her nose up.

"Vegan or Vegetarian?" Lennox questioned

"Vegetarian! Not Vegan. If I was Vegan I'd miss my eggs and peanuts too much." she said, snuggling up into the chair, picking up the pen and taking a big mouthful of McFlurry.

Epps had left again, going to pick up a salad.

She growled when she found pieces of chicken hidden underneath the leaves of lettuce and settled on just picking the meat out, complaining that 'an innocent animal just had to die for her, when it didn't need to!'

Once everything was done, signed and cleaned, Epps offered to drive her back to the diner so she could get her car back. She nodded, waving a goodbye to Lennox

"Bye! See ya tomorrow!" he yelled to her. Epps pulled her to the big black Topkick, handing her the blindfold. She wrapped it around her face, tied it securely at the back and sat in the darkness, leaning back into the leather seat. She heard the engine start up, the depth of the revv causing her jump a little.

Epps chuckled, knowing that Ironhide was showing off, when he wasn't supposed to. He flicked the steering wheel lightly. In return the engine revved deeper, and the vehicle moved forward. Epps grabbed the wheel, steering it out of the gates.

The soldiers out front only nodded, remembering Ironhide from one his training session, recalling how terrifying how he was when he was angry. Ellie felt the truck turn, trying to memorize each and every turn, the sharpness of them, and what direction they faced.

All too soon, Epps pulled the car to a stop. Epps undid the blindfold, and Ellie blinked in the light. She smiled at the African-American, and opened the door

"Thanks Epps." she said, handing him a folded up piece of paper, which had her address on it, for when he picked her up tomorrow, closing the door lightly, considering it was damaged enough. She tried not to imagine all the looks they got, having a big, jacked up truck covered in scratches and gashes. She patted the hood, an turned towards her car.

When Epps saw her car, presumably, he let the look of shock register on his face. She owned a Matte Black 1987 Camaro z28 was the door she opened, sliding into the seat. He was even more surprised when she turned it on. The engine's revv was so loud, he thought he felt it from where he sat. She obviously had pressed the gas pedal down, because the tires spun counter clockwise ash she exited her parking space. She stopped at the stop sign. Ironhide, having drove here, knew the way and followed her. Her blinker was to the right, Ironhide's to the left.

Ellie saw them in the background via her mirror, and as the light went green, she revved the engine extremely loudly, turning and pushing the gas pedal down. The tires squealed, tire marks burnt into the cement.

Epps felt Ironhide shake in his own laugh as the both of them watched her decrease speed and turn down another road, before Ironhide turned left, and drove back to base.

* * *

Ellie had the driver's window down, her right arm hanging out of the window, enjoying the feeling of the wind on her face. She was currently driving own the Concession road she lived on, her little farm house not to far ahead. Once she reached the 2k driveway (probably the longest driveway EVER), she turned onto it before placing her index finger and thumb of her free hand in her mouth, and blowing. The high pitched whistle echoed throughout the trees that borderlined and hid her property, creating almost like a wall that didn't allow any passer to see her property. A high pitched sound came from a few acres away, before 5 horses, all different colors raced up to the right side fence.

Ellie saw all 5 of her bestfriends and revved the engine. 2 of the younger horses, one white, one brown with black hair, bucked out at each other, then raced towards the house. The other 3 waited until she passed them, her current speed being about 5/mph, before pushing off their back feet and haunches, boosting forward. She changed gears, pressing the pedal down an catching up to them. The 3 older ones (The oldest being only 12) had caught up to the younglings, and ran behind them. A dark black horse, tall and slim, clearly built for speed and endurance, was out front, beating each of them.

Ellie smiled as another one neighed, tossing his head and trying to catch up with the leader.

Once each horse, and Ellie reached the house, she stepped out, walking over to the gate. One of them, short and brown with a black mane and tail, better known as a Bay, snorted and tossed her head, extending her neck to get Ellie's attention first. Without being able to hold back, Ellie laughed

"Hi Athena" she giggled, rubbing her nose, before reaching into the pocket of her pants and pulling out a mint, placing it in the middle of her flat hand, the horse, Athena, inhaled it, before quickly being pushed back by a dark grey horse with darker circles all over, and a white, fairly sized stripe, a Blaze, running down his face. A Dapple Grey.

"Titan" Ellie greeted as he inhaled another mint, before moving

Another one, the tall black horse who had won the 'race' down the driveway, stood perfectly still, eyeing her pocket for his mint. Ellie pulled it out, handing it to the of the track Thoroughbred, and newest addition to the herd

"Here ya go, Wally" the black horse, Thoroughbred, chewed the mint, nodding his head up and down excessively. Being the newest, he still hadn't gotten used to the routine, so his eyes locked back on Ellie's pocket, causing her to laugh. She rubbed Wally's face, the little white star on his forehead, and kissed his head, before he was kicked out of his place by stunningly, and surprisingly white, horse,

The pretty little white girl lifted her lip, before reached towards Ellie.

"Hey Luna" Ellie cooed, handing her the mint. Suddenly the little white mare, turned and ran towards the other members of the herd as the biggest horse, and oldest walked up to Ellie.

A big horse, standing at 17'2hh (70 inches) walked up to the gate, looking down at Ellie. He was yellow with a black stripe running down his spine, a Dun. Ellie felt her heart lift at the sight of him. He carried himself with pride and courage, a sense of self was definatley there. He was a good leader. He rubbed his forehead against her chest, a nicker coming from the back of his throat. Ellie smiled, remembering the first he did that, when she first bought him all those years ago, once they created a bond, a bond between a rider and the rider's very first horse . She lifted a hand to stroke his enormous head. She picked up the, mint from her pocket, and offered it to the big boy.

"Here ya go, Cyri" she encouraged. The horse turned his head and called to the herd. The tall black horse, Wally, ran over, and stared at Ellie. She laughed as Wally's eyes locked on the mint. She gave it to the big black horse, still smaller then Cyri, but bigger then the white mare. It was gone within seconds. The black horse trotted away, and Cyri watched him, before looking back to Ellie.

"Always the leader, aren't ya big boy" she mumbled, kissing his nose. Cyri nickered again, before walking over to the group.

Ellie strode into the house, going over to the really big window, and opening it. The walls were nothing but glass, so Ellie could see them. Luna must've heard the window open because she trotted over to the opened window which was attached to the field they resided in, and stuck her face in. Ellie laughed, handing the little one a carrot and reaching into the cupboard. She pulled out some chickpeas, reaching into her fridge for some spinach and heated up the pan on the stove.

Luna whineyed at Ellie, but Ellie laughed and walked over, closing the window. Luna huffed, but walked over to the only other mare, and her bestfriend, Athena and both of them layed down. Titan and Wally stood in front of them, one facing a different direction, like 2 men protecting two little girls. Athena gave an extremely quiet nicker, almost inaudible, before dropping her head, and sleeping. Cyri stood by the big window, and watched Ellie as she moved around her kitchen.

Ellie smiled at him, and he nickered at her, lifting his top lip before looking away.

Once Ellie prepared her dinner, a Spinach and Chickpea curry, and sat down at the small, 4 person island. She munched on her supper, watching the two little mares through the window that covered the whole wall. Every once in a while, Luna would bob her head and Athena would kick her leg out, before retracting it back close to herself. The two boys, Titan and Wally, still stood infront of their little girlfriends, occasionally looking at each other. Every once in a while one of the boys would walk forward, smell the ground a little, before march back and stand in their respective place.

Ellie watched them with interest, wondering what they were thinking inside their head. She couldn't help but smile when Luna woke up, and Wally turned around and nudged her shoulder almost lovingly, encouraging her to go back to sleep. Ellie was **so** thankful that she had the kitchen walls replaced by windows. Her mother had tried to convince her not to, but the whole kitchen was surrounded by the horses' field, and Ellie wanted to be able to see them, so she had it done, much to her mother's complaining.

She washed the plate once she was done, and closed the window, after giving Cyri a big kiss on the nose. She brushed her teeth, changing into her pjs, and walking out to the barn. She picked up two hay bales, heading over to the big hay holder. She cut the strings, throwing the hay bales into the already filled holder. Athena and Luna woke up, stood up, shook, and trotted over.

Ellie walked into between the two, patting their back as Wally and Titan walked over. Cyri walk over languidly, and stuck his face in the hay. Ellie smiled now that all 5 of them were eating food, and walked back out of the field. On both sides of the house, the horses' field basically encasing the house in a 'U' shape. Ellie felt good, knowing that her horses had close to 25 acres of field for themselves, while she only had 5 acres, and her extremely long driveway.

She walked in, closing and locking the door. She headed upstairs, turning the light off and falling onto her bed. Seeing as she had no air conditioning and it was in the middle of the summer, she didn't use her bed sheets, but finally, she managed to fall asleep.

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**Once again this is a TEST CHAPTER! I need reviews if I'm gonna continue. And I own the horse, Cyri, in real life. I tried to make Cyri seem kind of like Optimus because this is an Optimus OC so :) That's another reason why Ell- Ah! You'll just have to Reiew so I can make another chapter so you can figure out why Ellie... ;) Haha Thank you! I know I've already done this but:**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Lennox, Epps, Optimus Prime, Ironhide, Sideswipe, Ratchet, Graham, Galloway or anybody who you see in the movies! Only my OCs :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello! I'm excited about this story, super excited, so I got the second chapter up, though I am upset that this is only 3 thousand and some words, because the last one was 4 thousand, but hey! Still good! **

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Transformers, the characters or anything or anyone you see in the movies, only my OCs!**

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On Monday, when Ellie woke up to the annoying blare of her alarm clock, she wanted to snuggle under her blanket originally, not wanting to have to live another day doing absolutely nothing. But when yesterday registered in her head, everything coming back to her, she jumped up, and in a split second, the alarm clock wasn't making a sound anymore, and Ellie was at her closet, looking for something boring to wear.

She picked up a pair of sweatpants, and a wife beater. She threw the clothes on, exiting the room at super sonic speeds, almost. Once she got the stair case, she jumped onto the railing, sliding down it, like a kid in a movie would. As the railing curved adjacent to the stairs, she shifted her weight, and jumped off once she reached the end of the stairs. She jogged into the kitchen and standing by the sink, smiling at what she saw.

Luna and Athena were laying with each other, Luna's head perched over Athena's back, with Titan and Wally laying down not to far. Ellie looked a little to the right to see Cyri, the big handsome man that he is, standing no to far, looking out at the line of trees, looking out for his herd, like the leader she knew him to be. She smiled, pulling out a bowl, some Natural Grain cereal and blueberries. She loved having her horses at her house.

She took her time with breakfast, placing everything in the sink once she was done. She picked up her jumpsuit from the laundry room next to the front door, picking her steeled toe boots up too. She brought them outside, placing them down on the porch, next to the rocking chair. She sat down on the rocking chair, pulling her riding boots on and picking her helmet up.

She shuddered, thinking of all the times she'd been trampled, thrown off, or almost accidentally killed by Cyri, but had managed to live, thanks to her helmets. She placed it on the top of her head, buckling the strap underneath and knocking on the top of it 3 times, something her dad used to do when she originally started riding. She picked up Cyri's bridle, opening the gate to the field and closing it again.

She walked over to him and, as she got closer, he turned his head towards her, nickering at her, trotting the very few strides needed to get to her.

Ellie smiled as she recognized the look on his face. Both Ellie and Cyri looked forward to their morning ride.

Ellie loved the wind in her face, or the way her hair flew backwards, and the way Cyri would shake his head and neigh, his long mane tangling in her hands.

Cyri seemed to enjoy stretching his legs over the flat terrain, or jump over the fallen logs that had come down and she hadn't had time to remove them.

Cyri lowered his head, allowing Ellie to slip the English Bridle over his face. She did up all the latches, and threw the attached reins over his neck. She backed up, and Cyri turned his head, craning his neck to watch Ellie back up. She crouched just a little, before running towards him. She jumped up, flinging herself onto his back and managing to get one leg on each side of his back. She smiled, leaning down to hug him. He snorted and shook his head, taking one step forward.

Ellie laughed at his eagerness, gathering the reins, tapping him lightly with her heels. Ellie smiled as she felt his legs stretch and he took off at a trot. He tossed his head in excitement, and moved forward faster. Ellie felt his excitement pass through her as she tapped his sides again, and he changed to a faster pace, a Canter.

He snorted and shook his head again, shaking his neck, as Ellie's hair wooshed behind her.

Squinting her eyes, she noticed a big fallen tree and she smiled, turning him away.

The aura that consumed the two when they got closer and closer became bigger an better. Ellie felt Cyri pick up a pace to jump the big log. The two of them had a connection. Just by looking at them, it was easy to tell. Ellie trusted Cyri and Cyri trusted Ellie. They fed off each other's emotions as they moved together and the connection would **not** be able to be broken.

Cyri's front feet left the ground, Ellie leaning forward, releasing the reins to allow him to make the jump. His back feet left the ground, pushing both of them into the air. Suspended into the air, almost in slow motion, the both of them felt the connection strengthen. Ellie laughed as his front feet made contact with the ground, and he neighed, shaking his head and prancing in spot for a second.

Ellie, turned her head to the left, using her opposite foot to que him to go that way. As they raced across the grass, Ellie heard a neigh behind her. Close behind her, and catching up, Wally was running behind them, shaking his head. Cyri neighed and Ellie felt him speed. She knew what this meant

Cyri was challenging Wally to a race.

And Ellie was going to get to participate.

* * *

Epps looked at the GPS on Ironhide's dashboard, his eyebrows crunching together.

"How long will this take?" Ironhide whined through the radio, huffing as Epps slapped the wheel.

"Do you want to get fixed every time you come back from fighting the 'Cons?" Epps asked, raising his eyebrows instead. His response was a huff, emitting from the radio.

Ironhide had whined and complained for close to an hour straight about the fact that _he_ had to go with Epps to pick up the 'human fleshy', until Optimus transformed an commanded him to, leaving no room for discussion.

And Ironhide huffed, changed down to his truck and _as soon_ as they left N.E.S.T property, his whining started again.

"But I brought her back **yesterday**! Why do I have to go today _**too?!**_" he exclaimed, causing Epps to slapped his wheel.

"Enough!" he yelled

Ironhide grumbled underneath his breath, but Epps sighed and looked for the address written on a mailbox. After about 5 minutes, Epps _finally_ saw the mailbox. He sighed happily, and tapped Ironhide's wheel

"Turn here" he said, and Ironhide laughed

"YES!" Ironhide yelled, turning down the driveway. He slowed down and maneuvered around the pot holes or mud. Ironhide groaned when he realized that how long the driveway was

"Ugh!" he groaned

Finally they made it to the house. Epps stepped out and gapped at the big house.

"Woah" he said. The big white house with a black painted railing surrounding the wrap around porch. Glass walls, perfectly polished, covered one side of the house, and a big wooden fence was on both side of the house. This was something you **definitely** would not expect all the way out here.

A neigh brought Epps out of his gaping, and he looked towards that direction. A white horse had it's face over the fence, extending it face towards him. Epps walked over to him, smiling

"Are you a boy or girl? Eh?" he asked, rubbing it's neck. He looked around, and then laughed

"Ah, so you're a girl, eh?" he laughed, and the horse rubbed her face into his shirt.

"Where is the femme?" Ironhide growled, honking towards the house. The horse Epps was petting snorted and turned in a panic, running away, around towards the back of the house.

"Ironhide!" he yelled, walking over and slapping the metal "Enough! I **will** tell Optimus!" he threatened

That shut him up.

Epps leaned against Ironhide, waiting.

"Epps?" a voice towards the left said, catching Epps and Ironhide's attention, though Ironhide didn't turn or make any motions.

"Hey. Where were you?" he asked, walking over to her, as she jumped off the horse she was riding. Epps felt small compared to the horse, and the horse looked down at him snorting and watching Ellie, before she pulled off the bridle that hugged the horse's face.

"Sorry, We were out for our morning ride" she said as another horse, this one smaller but black, trotted up

The big one lowered his head, and allowed Ellie to take it off, before watching her walk off. He waited until she put his stuff away, then nickered

Ellie smiled at him, rubbing his face and kissed his cheek

"Bye big boy" she murmured, and Epps smiled as he saw this connection between them. She turned to him and raised a finger

"Hold on" she said, running up to the porch. Epps followed her slowly, stepping up onto the porch, laughing as he watched her wiggle into her jumpsuit. She pulled off her riding the boots, slipping on and tying up her steel toed boots, tucking them under her jumpsuit pant. She jumped up and smiled at him. She picked up her keys, dropping them into her pocket, and made sure that the door was locked, then nodded at him

"Kay" she said, walking over to the Topkick. She opened the door, and hopped in. Epps laughed, following her. He stepped in, and handed her the blindfold. She took it from his hands and wrapped it around her head. She tied it and leaned back again, into the seat. Epps pretended to hold the wheel as Ironhide backed up and took off down the driveway, and Epps watched as the horse Ellie showed up on ran next to the truck, watching Ellie, almost as if he were protective of her.

The other horses were behind him, but he was running on the passenger side and, as Ironhide turned down the road, he followed until they past the tree line, then he stopped and neighed after them, causing Ellie to laugh, find the window button and yelling out the window 'BYE CYRI!'

Epps laughed as she came back in, rolled the window up and relaxed against the seat.

* * *

Ellie smiled as she felt the truck stop and and Epps tore the blindfold off. She opened the door, jumped out and smiled. She walked over to the Corvette and kissed the hood

"Hey cutie" she cooed, laughing to herself. As she turned around she noticed an Emergency Hummer sitting in the corner. She walked over to it, running her fingers over all the metal, much like she had done to the Topkick a day before, and took her time. She noticed the swelling bumps again, but wasn't bad to the point where she had to report it.

Epps walked in the other direction, heading towards Lennox's office

"Hey bud" he said, once her got there, nodding at his co-worker

"Hey Epps, where you been?" Lennox laughed, grabbing Epps' hand and giving him a 'bro-hug' .

"Picking up the new Mechanic, Ellie. D'you know she owns horses?" Epps laughed "Most of them are really small, but then one of them is fricken built like a brick house!"

"Really?" Lennox asked, before moving around Epps

"Where are you going?" Epps asked, walking alongside his friend and field buddy

When they came to the hangar, Ellie wasn't anywhere in sight

"Ellie!" Lennox called

"Here" a muffled voice, much more high pitched then Lennox's called, before she walked around from the trunk of the Topkick "How can I help you, Major Lennox?" she asked politely, rubbing some excess paint off of her hand, onto the rag she held, before tucking it into the back pocket of her jumpsuit.

"Epps told me you own horses. Is that true? You didn't mention it on your resume." he said, Ellie laughing

"With no disrespect, Major Lennox, it's nobody's business over here. My horse riding career is over, my professional one anyway. Owning 5 horses has nothing to do with my mechanical abilities. It's just, more of a hobby now." she shrugged, picking up the can of black paint, and bringing it over to the right side of the truck.

Lennox gulped as she dipped the brush in paint, waiting for Ironhide to make some sassy comment to her, knowing him, but was relieved when he made no sound of any sorts when she brushed the paint onto the door.

"Well, I have a little girl, Annabelle, who has been going through this horse obsession. Do you... maybe.." he trailed off as she straightened up, smirking at him

"Let her ride one of my ponies?" she offered, smiling "Sure" she said, a silent laugh coming out "Though I do have to war you, you may be challenged to a race when you come up the drive way" she knelt back down, swquatting and resting on the balls of her feet

"What are you doin' anyway?" Epps asked, craning his neck to look at her

"Well, considering this guy's the one who brought me home and picked me up, I figured I owed him one" she shrugged, like it was nothing

"I thought girls assumed trucks and cars to be girls?" Lennox asked, remembering all the times little Annie called Ironhide a 'she' until he finally had to transform and tell her his gender.

Ellie turned to look at Lennox with a shocked, and somewhat appalled face

"Um... Eww. These are guys, just by looking at them you can tell. It's almost like the Cutie over there"she pointed a finger to the Corvette, Sideswipe "and this behemoth right here" she patted Ironhide's hood "are always trying to out-do each other with flashiness" she laughed, picking the paint up and moving it over to the next cans.

She picked up 3 different brushes and 2 different cans

"Why do you have 3 brushes?" Epps questioned, raising an eyebrow. She smiled at him over her shoulder, before placing the cans of paint on the hood, being forced to stand on her tiptoes, and pulling out the biggest brush. She placed her foot on the grill, making sure it was secure, before heaving her self up onto the hood.

Lennox looked at Epps with a look of confusion, who returned the look back to him, before looking back at her. She smiled at them,before opening one can, dipping the brush into he can,and pulling it out, the top of it soaked in a blue paint.

She smile at them, before turning around and dropping the brush on the side of the hood, smothering it onto the blue paint, obviously avoiding the red flames at the front. The men watched her as she finished one side, before turning to the other side. She dipped the brush in every few minutes, painting the hood on the blue paint.

Once that was finished, Ellie picked the smallest paint brush, opening the other can, which Lennox and Epps guessed was the red color. When she pulled the brush out of the can, the tip of it smothered in red, she scooched upwards, towards the wind shield, before lightly tracing the faint, dirty and almost no longer there flames. They watched her as she traced all the flames.

In the corner of her mouth you could see just the tip of her tongue, obviously something she always did when she focused. She traced, hearing Lennox and Epps laugh at her. She lifted the paint brush, before looking up at them, and glaring. She went back to focus on her painting, picking up the middle sized paint brush, and covering it with paint, coloring in the outline of the flames.

Once she finished, she stood up, jumping off the hood.

"Ellie!"

"Weeeeeee!" she yelled, Epps and Lennox watching her as she practically _flew_ off of Optimus. She landed on the ground, crouching down before standing up, and smiling at them.

They gapped at her, watching as she skipped over to Optimus' hood and **very, very** carefully taking the paint cans off the hood, making sure she didn't touch the fairly wet paint. She dropped the paint, covering the almost empty cans with the lids and keeping them right next to the front left wheel. She smiled at the Military men as she passed, going _back_ over to the un-open cans of paint, another paint brush and skipping over to Sideswipe.

Lennox knew that if Sideswipe were allowed to speak, he'd be whooping in excitement, he was getting _repainted_!

Ellie heard the men leave not too long later, and she smiled before focusing on the Corvette's metal.

* * *

"So what'd you think, Optimus?" Lennox asked the big truck, watching Epps drive Ellie home in his personal vehicle

"Consid-"

"I think she's perfect! Keep her, keep her, keep her! Have you seen that thing she does with her tongue when she's focusing on my paint? Or how nice my paint is? Ugh! Optimus say yeeeesssss!" Sideswipe interrupted, transforming up, knowing that Ellie wasn't there and they could actually **stand up**.

"As much as this aft head _**is**_an aft head, I agree." Ironhide said, standing up too, rolling his shoulders seeing as they ha cramped up.

A round of 'yeah's passed around the room; the small group of remaining Autobots that were left from the war, and Optimus transformed up, tires and metal plates shifting as he stood up.

He took a deep intake of breath, exhaling the perfectly intact oxygen, seeing as they didn't actually breath **oxygen**, before nodding to Major Lennox.

Lennox nodded "Alright, we'll keep her, but she needs to eventually know about you guys. I mean sooner or later she's going at need are at least _want_ to see your guys' engines or undercarriage, not just... re-paint you and buff your scrapes." he said, running a hand through his hair

Optimus kneeled down and stared at him, making eye-optic contact.

"We will.. I believe the human saying is 'Cross that bridge when it comes'" Optimus nodded and Lennox relaxed just a fraction.!

Ellie sipped the hot chocolate in her cup, besides the fact that is was close to 23 degrees Celsius, she had been wanting some for a little time, watching as Wally and Titan kicked out at each other, in an obvious play 'battle' of 'who's going to beat who'. She smiled as Titan kicked at Wally, and Wally snorted, shaking his head and prancing in spot, before running after Titan, who had already taken off, towards the front of her property.

She saw a police car turn into her driveway, at the very end, and it stopped, not even coming past the first two meters of her incredibly long driveway. The engine cut off, the headlights going dead.

She tried squinting her eyes, attempting to see who sat in the driver's seat, but distance in eyesight wasn't exactly her friend. The driver, whomever it was, turned the engine back on, backed out, off her property and took off.

_What was that about?_ she thought, shrugging it off, passing by. Maybe he owned a stick shift and he accidentally stalled it, using her driveway just as a tool to turn around. Whatever the reason was, she still made sure all the locks were locked, the windows shut closed before heading upstairs.

* * *

**Thanks guys! I hope this chapter was good too! I put effort into it! I tried to give you guys a bonding moment between both Ellie and Cyri and Ellie and Optimus! Just 'cause I love the both of them so, so, so very, VERY much! And Wally was thrown into the morning 'race' because he's cute as a button!**

**I think the next chapter is going to fill you guys in on Ellie's past. Her parents, her past in riding (You can skip that part if horses aren't your thaaaannngg!), buying her ponies (again you can skip that part) and why she's so good with mechanics and stuff like that :) Thanks again and I only own Ellie and her ponies and the rest of my OCs :)))**


	3. Chapter 3

**Alrighty! Thanks for your wonderful Reviews, they keep me going and another chapter has been completed!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers or anybody in the movies who show up in this story, only my OCs. I made up Amelia, Epps' daughter, because she isn't shown in the movie, but Annabelle isn't mine either.**

**On another note, many people have told me that this story very much resembles Ulur Naga's Primary Mechanisms? In no way, shape or form am I, or do I, intend to copy, plagiarize or steal her work! I thought of this story originally when the first movie came out, in 2007, but didn't post it only because the movie franchise wasn't done. It's finished now, and I am putting this story out into the world. My OC Ellie (Elizabeth) Payton and Ulur's OC Teresa Jackson, I believe, are two different characters. Their attitudes and abilities may resemble, but my story is going in a completely different direction then hers is. In case you haven't noticed, or just didn't pick it up, Barricade, the police car that attacked Sam in the movie, is stopping by Ellie's house frequently. There is a reason for that. I have the basics of what the next 10 chapters or so will be, and it will be unlike Ulur Naga's**

**I know how excruciatingly frustrating it is for someone to copy your work and claim it as theirs, it has happened to me before. That is why I am on FanFiction in the first place. Because it _happened to me._ I would never dream of doing that to somebody else, because it happened to me. If you take offense to this story, do not read it. I'm doing this for entertainment purposes only. The plot of this story is different from Ulur Naga's, I already know where this story _will head_ and what is going to happen. So if you guys think I'm taking her story idea or work, I'm not! At all. No intention or plan to do so is in my head, nor will it ever be! **

**Anywho, sorry for the spelling errors or typos, it's like midnight over where I live, so I didn't read throught it as thoroughly as I normally would. This chapter is kind of a filler/cliffhanger-ish because they're going to tell Ellie about the autobots soon! I wanted to put Annabelle into this story much more, because I love her character, even though it's not really there, so her and 'Amelia' whom I just kind of made up last minute, will be riding with Ellie often.**

**Anyway, enough with my rambling and ranting! Onward with the story Cyri! *Neigh***

* * *

More than a week had passed, Ellie was becoming much more open to the other soldiers, not just Epps and Lennox. The big, burly men who had gone with them for her interview, which she had learned were name John and Brad, had been the first to be-friend her.

Lennox had become more and more worried when she hadn't complained to him about not working on the engines; even Epps said she hadn't complained to him on their morning ride. Lennox laughed when, Friday, after Epps and Ironhide had come back from dropping her off for the weekend, Ironhide had transformed up and looked at Lennox, dead in the eyes before nodding

"If you **ever** fire her, I will hunt you down! I pick her up, drop her off and then _I_ get cleaned first." he said, transforming back down and heading over to his 'spot' that he claimed when they first came to this base.

"Why fret about it? I mean she seems happy with what she's able to do now, let her to do just that." Epps said, rubbing his forehead.

"Yeah, but... like what if she isn't complaining because she's... already popped the hoods? Or she, like... I don't know-"

"Exactly, you don't know!"

"Major Lennox, if she **had** looked under of our hoods, which she hasn't, we'd either be able to feel it, or one of us would have at least _seen_ it" Optimus said, looking down at Will as he sighed running a hand through his hair

" Do you think, maybe, we should tell her about us? I mean the **real** us?" Sideswipe asked "She seems to like it here, and we all like her" a round of murmured 'yeahs' ran around the room, from both organic and mechanical beings, and Lennox looked up at Optimus.

Optimus took an intake of Oxygen, the wheels on the back of his mechanical calves twitching to the right. His optics turned as he looked at his Autobot brethren, the human soldiers, then glancing at Epps and Lennox.

"It's up to you, boss bot" Lennox shrugged, waiting for his response. He watched as Optimus turned his head to look out of the base

"Alright" he said, turning his attention back Lennox "We will inform her of our presence the next day she comes in, Monday" he nodded and Lennox sighed to himself

"Major Lennox" Optimus called, catching his attention "do you not have an appointment with Ms. Payton? And your daughter?" he asked, his head tilted a fraction " I do believe it is the weekend." he finished, and Lennox's eyes widened

"Crap!" he yelled, grabbing Epps by the forearm, pulling him to Ironhide, who had transformed down and was waiting for them to get in.

"Haha! Run, Lennox, run!" one of the soldiers yelled after him, everybody who had been in the room laughed.

Ironhide closed the door behind Epps as he hopped in. Lennox settled onto the seat and tapped the wheel

"Go, go, go!" he exclaimed; Ironhide spun the wheels, the truck's engine roaring as it took off, out of the base and onto the road

* * *

"Horsies! Look daddy, look! Ponies" Annabelle squealed, looking at the 'pretty white pony' who was running in the paddock adjacent to the truck on the driveway, next to 'pretty, tall, black horsey!'. Lennox smiled, looking at his little prize in the backseat, another squeal coming from Epps' little girl, Amelia, who looked just like his wife, Monique.

"Ponies!" Amelia yelled, seeing two ponies on _her _side of the drive way.

Lennox looked at the two horses on his side of the driveway, one white, one black, before glancing at the two on Epps' side, one a color of grey, one brown with black hair. Epps smiled at Lennox and laughed as the two little girls looked at each other and squealed.

Ellie saw the big truck coming up, noticing Wally, Luna, Athena and Titan putting on a show for the little girls in the back seat. Cyri stood behind the gate, watching his herd race with the black truck.

Ironhide rumbled to a stop, and Ellie saw Athena and Titan run around the back of the house, more than likely to come greet the new, unknown people at the main gate. She smiled as Epps and Lennox and stepped out, opening both back doors, two little girls jumping out from each side, and running around to see the horses. Cyri, being the first one at the fence, lowered his large head, both little girls stepping back a little, because of his sheer size, before squealing and running up to him.

Ellie saw Cyri's eyes widen, but he kept his head down, his calm demeanor remaining intact. She smiled as Luna and Wally trotted up to the fence, Wally's head held high and Luna snorting, before they broke down, stopping next to Cyri. Cyri looked back at them, before walking out of the way.

"Two?" Ellie smirked, looking at both Lennox and Epps. Lennox groaned, walking forward, towards Annie. Epps took one step, stopping next to Ellie

Ellie looked at him, smirked, then repeated the question

"Two?"

"Yeah, well Amelia, my daughter, heard about the horses and begged to come" he smiled cheekily at him "Sorry"

She laughed, patted his shoulder and shook her head

"It's ok, Titan loves kids" she said, just as Titan and Athena trampled around the back of the house, sticking their nose over the fence.

Amelia squealed, Ellie laughing, as she walked over to Titan and grabbed his nose in-between her index finger and thumb, causing the horse to snort; Epps laughed, walking towards his daughter. He picked the little girl up by her under-arms, lifting her up so she could pet the horse's neck. Lennox mirrored him, doing the same to Annabelle.

Ellie smiled, before whistling. The two little girls smiled, looking at her. Annabelle, who looked like a female version of her dad, walked up to her smiling.

"Hi! You are Ellie?" she asked

"Ellie? Hehe it rhymes with smelly!" Amelia commented "What does Ellie mean?" her face went serious as she stared at Ellie, who crouched down.

"Ellie is short for Elizabeth. I'm Elizabeth Ann Emily Payton the second" she said, smiling

"Really? The second! Wow!" Annie gasped.

Ellie smiled, laughing

"Why Ann Emily?" Amelia asked

"Because Ann is my grandmother, and Emily is my little sister, who isn't alive anymore" Ellie said, trying not to tear up at the thought

"Well I like Ellie!" Annie yelled.

Epps looked at Lennox, seeing the interaction.

"I fucking told you" he said as Cyri stuck his head in between the two "He's built like a brick house" he said. Lennox lifted his hand, stroking the big horse's cheek.

Just as he was about to respond another squeal interrupted him.

Annabelle was standing on the big porch, a little, purple helmet sitting snugly and perfectly fit on top of her head. She was wearing little, light brown cowboy boots, her jean pants tucked inside. Amelia strutted out, wearing the same thing, except her helmet was blue and her boots were black.

Ellie walked out, sitting on the rocking chair and pulling her boots on. She placed her helmet on her head, closing the strap and knocking the top of it three times.

As the three riders walked down to the gate, Ellie holding the little girls' hands, one girl in each hand.

"Which one do you want to ride?" she asked, looking at little girls

Annabelle looked at Amelia, who nodded at her. Annie looked at all 5 of them, who were lined up. She nodded before pointing to the big black horse

"That one" she chose

"That one's Wally, he's what you call a 'Thoroughbred'. He likes to run and he's Luna's boyfriend" Ellie said, smiling as Annanbelle smiled, before looking at Amelia

"What about you?" she asked

Amelia looked at them, before pointing at the brown horse with black hair

"Him" she said

"Her" Ellie corrected "That's Athena. She's what you call a 'Batak' pony. They originated in Indonesia and she likes to jump! Sometimes, on weekends, I ride her in the morning and we jump all the fallen trees in the back, and Wow! You should see how high she jumps!" Ellie said, widening her eyes for effect.

The little girl smiled and ran in place, squealing.

"A Botock pony!" she smiled

"No, no, no. Bay-tack" Ellie corrected

"Batak" Amelia said.

The little girls smiled as Ellie bridled up the horses they chose with a western bridle and western saddle, lifting them onto the horses and showing them how to get them to walk and steer.

Once the girls got it, she smiled at the men in front of her

"Looks like you too get these ones" she smiled "Take your pick Lennox, and we're not at work, you're on my land, **I** control** you** know" she smiled "And not the big one" she added

Lennox looked at the two remaining horses

'The white one" he said. Ellie rolled her eyes

"She's a 'grey' and that's Luna. She's a Icelandic horse. She was supposed to be put down because she couldn't do a certain pace from birth, called a tolt, but I couldn't watch a perfectly good horse die for a stupid reason" she explained as she bridled up Luna. She handed Lennox the two reins, and he took a deep breath.

"Ok" he said. Ellie laughed as he attempted to jump on, and failed

"Here" she said, grabbing Luna's reins "Bow" she commanded; Luna bent one knee, like a bow, and Ellie motioned for Lennox. He jumped up on the back as Luna stood up, Lennox perched on her back. She gathered the reins, already knowing how to cue the horse thanks to Annabelle an Amelia's tutorial

Ellie turned back around

"Alright Epps, looks like you get Titan" she said. Epps fist pumped as Titan walked up to him

"Yes! A guy! Nice name" he complimented, just as the horse snorted, snot flying onto Epps' shirt "Ugh! This is new!" he exclaimed

"Haha! Yeah good luck! Titan has a thing for messing up clean clothing. He bites pockets open, sneezes on shirts and kicks up dirt onto pants" Ellie smiled, Epps glaring at her "Good luck" she whispered "Titan is a good guy once you get to know him. He's a breed called 'Oldenburg' They originated from Germany." she smiled at Epps "Bow" she commanded, causing Titan to bow, much like Luna did.

Epps jumped up and Titan stood up, snorting into Ellie again. Epps gathered the reins and followed Epps. Ellie saw all four guests in a line up, waiting for her. Cyri walked up behind her and nickered, rubbing his head on her back. She stumbled forward, clearly not prepared for it, before she pet him. He made eye contact with Ellie and her eyes softened at him.

"And this is Cyri. He's a Hanoverian. He's dad was recorded to be one of the tallest Hanoverians in the world. That's why he's so tall. I bought him when I was 12, he was one. With the help of my old instructor, we trained him to ride. He was my very first horse. He was barely a year old when I saw him at Auctions. He was supposed to go to really bad people, but I won him. He was scared and alone when we took him in. He shouldn't have been separated." she looked at Annie and Amelia "Can you imagine not living with you Mommies?" she asked. The little girls nodded a 'no' and she smiled

"Now" Ellie said, rubbing her hand together "Who wants to run?" she asked. The little girls nodded their heads frantically

Ellie couldn't help but laugh. She grabbed a fistful of Cyri's long mane, before flinging herself onto his back

"Why awen't you using a bwidle like us?" Amelia asked

"Because Cyri doesn't need a bridle to control. And I trust Cyri. Plus I hae a lot of experience riding, not only horses, but Cyri. I started riding about your age, and it's been my life ever since" she said

"Can we be like you?" Annie asked, big pleading eyes "Can you teach us how to ride wifout these things, like Daddy?" she asked, pointing to the Saddle. Ellie knew that the fact that their Dads were riding bareback made them want to as well, but they didn't have enough balance _just _yet Ellie nodded and they smiled.

"I can give you guys lessons if you want. You can be as good as me one day" they both looked their dads who nodded

"We'll think about it" they responded at the same time

"Now lets ride" Ellie said, and the girls yelled out 'yeah's. She smiled at them and tapped Cyri's sides. The others tapped the sides of their respective steeds and directed them away. The little girls kicked their horses again, causing them to trot

Half an hour later they were all cantering, and Ellie was jumping. Amelia and Annabelle were jumping too, all of them laughing, but the men were only running their horses.

Ellie couldn't stop the laugh that came out of her mouth when Will and Epps had a race, and Will won. She new Luna was always a runner, and Titan's stride was long, but he wasn't built for speed, however Luna was. What was even funnier was Epps whined, complained then decided he didn't like Titan. Titan grabbed his boot in between his mouth and shook it.

Ellie felt Cyri speed up, and jumped over a big log. Ellie leaned forward, before leaning back as he landed. Annie and Amelia jumped the other logs, and laughed, high-fiving as they stopped next to each other.

* * *

Amelia and Annie were outside, playing with the horses in the back, using the glass door by the kitchen to get out. They were laughing and giggling. Cyri stood by the window, looking at Ellie every once in a while.

"Thanks again Ellie" Lennox thanked

She shrugged

"What about the lessons? You saw their face, they loved it. It'll be free, because they'd be doing me a favor. I do ride them on weekends, but that's it. Cyri is the only one who is ridden every day" she said, glancing at the big horse. He looked at her, and lifted his top lip, before looking back at the little girls.

Ellie chuckled, and stared at the men. They looked at each other before nodding at her

"Sure. They seem happy to, so why not?" Epps asked

"Saturday, same time, every week?" Lennox asked, getting a nod from Ellie

Lennox was eating his fifth cookie and Epps was drinking Coke, watching their kids

"So" Epps smiled "Elizabeth Ann Emily Payton, huh?" he teased. Ellie growled at him.

"Don't you **ever** call me Elizabeth again" she said, glaring at him.

"Why Ann Emily?" Lennox asked

"Ann was my Mom's mom. She was my Mom's best friend. She lives in British Columbia now. Emily was actually my Dad's mom, but my sister was named after her, so I say it was my little sister I was named after. That doesn't make any sense, of course because she wasn't born when I was, but I loved her so..." she trailed off, looking at the table

"What happened?" Lennox

"Um.. she was 5 and walking back to the house from her bus stop. Mom was across the road, and she was watching her. It was her first day at school and she was excited to learn. She loved the idea of school." Ellie stopped to sniff "She looked both ways, liked she was supposed to, but as she was walking, a truck came down the road to fast a-and couldn't stop and..." she trailed off again, rubbing under her eyes.

Epps patted her back and she looked up

"She lived for 2 more days, but they couldn't save her. Her official death date is September 9th"

"I'm sorry" Lennox said

"S'okay. The man who did that was put in jail. It was supposed to be life, but I-I don't I guess I took pity on him. He was kind of innocent. I begged the judge until he lessened the charge. He got out the other day actually. He stopped by here about 3 weeks ago and thanked me. I got the judge to only charge 5 years. How, I don't know, but I did. He came over here and hugged me and cried his thanks. I saved him. He has a girlfriend now, and he's has a job as a Janitor in a High School. It's temporary though" she smiled

"He's changing his life around"

Lennox nodded and bit his cookie. A neigh cut off their thoughts, and they looked through the glass to see Amelia laughing and Annie making a face at Wally, who was making a face back, his mouth open like a Thoroughbred normally would. Lennox smiled, took his phone out and snapped a shot.

"When'd you buy the big one?" Epps asked

"Cyri? I've owned him for 11 years. It's going to be 12 on December 27th. He was originally my Christmas present. My parents didn't now what I wanted in a horse. When I bought him he was about 15 hands high. In the time I've owned him he grew **alot**. Now he's 17 point 2 hands high; 70 inches. He was really skinny and his eyes were big and scared. If I hadn't won him, he'd be pulling carts. He's not meant to be a buggy horse. Actually" she laughed "I remember once, about three years after I owned him, he was new to jumping and we were running up to 3 foot jump. He tripped on the way and I fell off of him, over his head. He used my head as a stepping stool to help him get up. I was fine, but my helmet died that day. I've worn helmets ever since."

Ellie glance at the clock and whistled to the girls. The girls, as well as the horses, snapped their heads towards her. She motioned to them to come in

They marched in just as Amelia's stomach grumbled

"You guys ready to go?" Lennox asked, knowing that Ironhide would probably want to get going by now

"Aww!" they whined at the same time. Ellie laughed at the synchronization

"Your Daddies, if you're good, every Saturday you can come ride" she smiled, trying to cheer up the little ones. They both smiled at the same time and screamed out in happiness.

"Alrighty, lets head" Epps clapped his hands together

Ellie watched from the porch as the little girls stuck their heads and hands out the back windows of the truck, waving a good bye. They had helped her put hay out for the horses before climbing into the truck

The black beast turned onto the road, and the trees blocked them from her view. Just as she was about to go back inside, the cop car from the other day swerved into her driveway. It came up further, probably, about, 7 meters, before the driver cut then engine. The lights turned off, and the driver, whomever it was stayed like that.

Ellie tensed again. The 2nd in 2 weeks that that had happened. It worried her, because this time the driver stayed like that for 5 minutes. The horses all lifted their head and looked before they all ran, bucking into the air.

Normally this wouldn't worry Ellie, only because they normally did that, but this time even Cyri ran... _**Cyri**_. And Cyri was not known for doing that.

Suddenly the engine revved up, roaring at her, and the tires kicked up rocks from the driveway as he backed out, and took off the way he came.

Ellie walked into the house, making sure the doors were locked, and all the windows were latched shut

_That_ she thought_ is freaky_.

* * *

**Alrighty, like I said, I only own my OCs or the people you wouldn't see in the movie, and yes, you do see Annabelle in the movie. The first one, Lennox goes home and lifts her into the air for the first time :') so precious. **

**Sorry for the spelling mistakes, please Review it's what keeps me updating for yous! Yatta Yatta Yatta, and thanks for reading this. If you think I'm plagerizing or copying anybody's work, read the top two paragraph's in the author's note, it explains it (incase you didn't) and I looove your feedback. It really helps keep me motivated about this story! Thanks and I love you guys!**

**See you around Chapter 4**

**"Yee-haw Cyri" *Neiiiiigggghh***

**P.S. When Ellie says she got trampled by Cyri, that happened to me once. My horse, Cyri, tripped on a rock that wasn't supposed to be there, I wet over his head, he used mine as a stepping stool to get up, I had approx. 1300 lbs on my head for 2 seconds, went to the hospital and got on the next day! Haha! Oops :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Big Chapter! 5 thousand and some words! This is a filler, just a alot of background info and memories of Ellie when she was a kid. Please excuse the typos and/or spelling mistakes**

**Disclaimer: I only own Ellie, her family, horses or anybody you don't/can't/wouldn't see in the movies!**

**Please Review! And Favorite! Or Follow!**

* * *

Ellie got up the next morning, originally planning to go back to work, but her phone rang, probably around 7:30. It was Epps, telling her that she had the day off, if she worked next Saturday. Before answering him she looked around the house, or what she could see anyways, and made the quick decision to stay home and clean.

It had taken her from 7:45 to lunch to clean the main areas of her house. The laundry room was still fairly dirty, only because of all the clothes she got in High School and never grew out of, much to her detest. The bathrooms were clean because she normally only used one, the other for guests when they visited, like her 28 year old brother, Trevor, who was out of work due to a back injury (from falling off of Cyri).

She couldn't help but laugh when that thought came up, and the amusing factors that happened before he was proven to have gotten hurt

_"Ellie, I just want to ride him! I mean, he just finished an hour lesson of __**jumping**__! For Christ's sake, can I please ride Cyri!" Trevor asked, throwing his hand in the air for effect_

_"Trev, I know you want to ride him, but Cyri and I still aren't connected as much as I'd like. I don't know if he's going to respond to you in a negative way or not!" 15 year old Ellie said, loosening the leather strap that wrapped around the bottom of the horse's stomach, (holding the small english saddle in spot) and gathering the reins in her hands._

_Trevor opened and closed his mouth, mocking Ellie_

_"'Mmmmamamamama' Really Ellie? I'm a big boy, I can handle a little animal!"_

_"He's not little! He's-_

_"He's 15 point 3 hands high! I know, That doesn't mean anything! He's a horse, an animal and I'm a human! I know more then him, I can control him!" Trevor rolled his eyes "I drove you here, you owe me one!" he added_

_"One more year" she mumbled under her breath, rolling her eyes, totally looking forward to getting her drivers license._

_"Whatever" Trevor said, getting impatient "El, come __**on**__" he begged_

_Ellie rolled her eyes, re-tightening the custom-fit girth on Cyri_

_"Hop on" she said, patting his neck._

_Trevor smiled, ripping the reins from her hand. Cyri through his head up, his eyes widening in fear as his head was tugged on roughly. Ellie's jaw clenched; she was totally nervous. She knew Cyri, not completely, but enough to know that he was still 'fresh' (a term riders used for excited and still full of energy), even after an hour lesson. Trevor tugged himself up, landing roughly on the saddle. _

_Cyri's head lifted higher, his young 3 year-old-self scared. He didn't know who this man was, or what he'd do, but he was big and not as gentle as the pretty girl with the light brown hair. Trevor kicked his sides, a little too harsh and Cyri trotted forward. Trevor kicked him again and Cyri pushed into a canter, way to fast for Ellie's liking. Trevor 'whooped' and leaned forward, his balance completely off._

_Ellie watched in horror as Cyri's hind end kicked up, his back hooves flailing in the air. Trevor was pushed onto his neck, and, as Cyri dropped his neck to the ground, he fell off the front of Cyri. _

_"Trevor!" Ellie yelled, darting forward. Trevor landed on his back, an audible grunt coming out of his voice box. Cyri ran forward, his back feet kicking up into the air again. Ellie stopped at Trevor, sliding her arm under his back. "You ok?" she asked_

_He grunted, pushed her away and stood up_

_"I'm fine" he growled "Stupid horse" he grumbled. Ellie slapped him upside the head_

_"Shut up!" she exclaimed "He's not stupid! I told you he could respond to you in a negative way! You're too mean and rough for him" she said, an informative face covering her face "I told you" she said, a laugh bubbling up in her throat._

_"Whatever" he mumbled. As he stood up, he winced and held his back. "I'll be in my truck" he said, walking out of the arena. As he exited Cyri looked up from eating the grass on the side of the outdoor arena before snorting and galloping away from Trevor. _

_Ellie watched as Trevor left, holding his back. She turned around and waved her at Cyri, who was still running around. She needed to stop him, the stirrups were flying around and the reins were close to his feet; they were close to tangling in his legs. she tried not to laugh, but the memory of Cyri with his head to the floor and Trevor falling off the side eventually caught up to her_

_Trevor never rode Cyri again, and Ellie understood why._

That was the last time Trevor got on Cyri. At the time it was dangerous and not amusing at _all_ but, looking back now, it was kind of amusing.

That wasn't almost as bad as Ellie's fall of of Cyri though

_"Ellie, push him into the corner!" the instructor, Kelly, said as Ellie and Cyri cantered around the big outdoor arena. Ellie did as she was told_

_"Ok, two-point!" Ellie did as she was told. As Cyri cantered up to the jump, his long stride covering the ground quickly, she applied pressure to his sides and he took the jump. He landed on the other side, and Ellie remained in her two-point position, a smile gracing her face._

_She looked to the right, asking him for a little bit of a faster pace. Tony, Beth, Trevor, Tiffany, Britt **and** Blake had all come to watch her lesson. She wanted to make a good impression. _

_Cyri sped up, but about 8 strides in front of the jump, his front right foot hit a rock. He lost his balance, and stumbled into the ground. Ellie flew over his head, landing on her side. Cyri, being a horse, panicked. He was on the ground, and a potential predator could get him in this defenseless state. He scrambled up, not looking where he was stepping._

_His front left foot slammed down on Ellie's helmet, pushing her head into the ground. She grunted, the pain of having your head shoved into solid ground, not exactly un-painful or fun. The nails on the bottom of Cyri's jumping shoes broke into the top of the helmet. _

_Faintly, Ellie heard a "CYRI!", before he ran off, his foot coming off of her head. Ellie's head was pounding, and she felt someone pull her up_

_Her dad and Blake, being the bigger of the two brother's, were crouched in front of her, Kelly on her right._

_"Are you ok?" Tony asked, taking the helmet off. Ellie could see her Mom, her hand covering her mouth. Britt and Tiff were watching her intently. Brittany had two tears, one on each side of her face, running over her cheeks. Trevor had his phone to his ear, and he was talking to somebody on the other line_

_"Follow my fingers" Blake said. Ellie did as she was told._

_"Ok, come on, let's stand up" Tony said. Very slowly, they managed to get her to stand up_

_Paramedics rushed into the arena. Ellie's lesson buddy, Susan, had caught Cyri. He was shaking slightly, probably still shook up from the fall. _

_The ambulance's lights were going off._

_" Let's get her to the Ambulance, we'll do a check on her at the hospital, if it's alright with you?" the male Paramedic, who's name tag read T. Kenny, asked Tony. He nodded and together the two of them helped her walk to the ambulance_

_"Trevor, drive your brother and sisters to the hospital, we'll go in the ambulance" Tony commanded, his normally calm demeanor now completely serious and fatherly like.  
_

_Trevor nodded and together him, Blake Tiffany and Brittany got in the van and drove off_

_"Where's Cyri" Ellie asked her mom, looking around "Is he alright?" she asked._

_"He's fine, Susan and Kelly are going to cool him off and put him in the stall for the night. He;s a little shaken up" Beth said as Ellie laid on the gurney. The paramedic, this one female who's name tag read H. Volshburg, smiled. The girl, probably about 16, who lay in front f her really, truly cared for that horse. It was sweet_

_"Cyri" she said, turning her head towards the roof_

_At the hospital, they diagnosed her with a mild Concussion. The next day she payed Trevor $25 to drive her to Cyri. She was back on Cyri, jumping again, with a new helmet! Ellie didn't do as she was told._

Trevor had wanted to get back on a horse, but Cyri scared him, especially after the incident and Titan wasn't exactly his fan. Once she turned twenty, settled at her house with the geldings, Trevor and Ellie headed down to the auction for another horse, one Trevor would feel comfortable getting on in her indoor arena.

That was the day Athena came to Ellie's place

_"Are you sure? I mean you don't have to." Trevor said, adjusting his back brace that he had to wear currently_

_"Yes. Cyri and Titan are geldings, I need another girl around! The testosterone is overwhelming, I swear! Plus another one would be nice!" 20 year year old Ellie said._

_The brother and sister settled in the bench._

_"Welcome, welcome today, to the horse auction! Today, to start off, we're going to start with a pretty little lady, pretty Botack pony," Ellie scoffed at the mispronunciation, but saw Trevor lift his hand, stop and look at her. Nobody was bidding on her. She nodded and Trevor smiled._

_The little mare was skinny, her ribs were slightly visible. Her eyes, both dark brown, were wide, the white of them showing slightly. She was nervous. Ellie knew the fact that she was being lead by a random, unknown and potentially dangerous person, the crowd, all the eyes and the announcer on the speakers was extremely nerve-wracking for... any horse. _

_She was an ugly, skinny horse who needed TLC to become healthier and prettier. But Ellie loved her, and she was ready to put the time in for both her, and Trevor._

_"I'll work with her" Ellie whispered to him._

_"500, 500 going once" Trevor raised his hand, the piece of paper had their number written on it. _

_"500, 550, 550 anyone? Going once, twice..." nobody raise their hand. _

_Ellie knew Bataks weren't very popular, because they were known for lashing out at humans, and many were used to crossbreed with other horses. A purebred mare would be no use to anyone, especially in this condition._

_"Sold to number 450" Trevor smiled a little, looking at Ellie. Ellie smiled at him, then looked back at the scared horse. She made eye contact and an extremely loud neigh came from her. She tossed her, and attempted to run, but the handler pulled her back. Ellie winced and watched Trevor._

_Once the auction was finished they waited outside as the handlers attempted to load the Batak mare into the trailer. She was rearing up, completely against walking into the scary, dark, metal trailer. _

_"Here hold on" Ellie said_

_"No ma'am, this horse is dangerous. She should be put down, you're actually nuts to buy her" the guy said, throwing his arm across her chest to stop her_

_Ellie growled and tore the lead rope from his hand_

_"Why don't you shut the fuck up?" she growled, Trevor's face covered in shock. Ellie almost never swore, unless she was 100% serious or mad, which wasn't very often._

_Everybody watched as she let the rope loose, holding the very end of it. The horse dropped her head, bobbing it a little from nervousness. Once Ellie managed to get her head down to make eye-to-eye contact. Ellie stroked her head and bridge of her nose. _

_"Shh" Ellie cooed, the mare calming down enough for everyone to visibly see it. She collected the rope a little so it wasn't dragging on the ground. Ellie took the first step onto the ramp of the trailer. The bay mare hesitated, but took the risk._

_Both horse and human held eye contact as they took equivalent-in-length steps._

_Not long after, the skinny, malnourished mare was strapped into the trailer and eating some much needed hay. Ellie looked back at the handlers, turned around and walked towards the truck that was attached to the trailer, not one word coming out_

_Trevor saw this, realized how mad she was at the men, and nodded at them, a tight smile covering his face._

_When he jumped into the passenger seat, putting the seat belt on, she started the truck up._

_"You're pissed at them?" Trevor asked_

_"Trev, no horse deserves to die. Even if she was that scared, he shouldn't have said that. " she sighed, rubbing her face._

_"Whatever, let's go." Trevor laughed, wrapping his arm around her shoulders "Love ya sis"_

Ellie smiled as Athena bucked at Wally. He raised his head, narrowly avoiding her feet. Ellie laughed, looking at the clock. It was 2:30, and she had paper towels and Windex in her hand.

She sprayed the glass, Cyri neighing a horsey laugh as the chemical water trickled down the glass. She chuckled under her breath, and scrubbed the glass.

_Ellie sighed, rubbing her face. She leaned her elbows against the island in the middle of the kitchen_

_"Mom-" _

_"Ellie, doing that would be extremely dangerous _and_ costly! Replacing your kitchen walls with __**glass? **__Just to be able to see your horses? Seriously?"_

_"Mom, Athena's limping! I need to be able to watch her when she's in the paddock. I __**want**__ this!" Ellie said "Dad!"_

_"Ellie, uh ...don't get me involved in this" her dad, Anthony, said walking to the fridge to find something to eat._

_"Ellie, this house was your father's mother's! You'd be changing so much!" her mom argued_

_"Weak attempt, Beth" Anthony said from behind the fridge door._

_"Shut up Tony" Elizabeth Sr. said "Ellie, please-"_

_"Mom, I'm getting it done, that's final." she said "I know this house is important to you, but this is what I want! I'm twenty, I should be able to make my own decisions." Ellie argued_

_Beth looked at her and sighed, rounding the island and hugging her daughter_

_"I just want what's best for you" she whispered, rubbing her back_

_"This __**is**__ best for me Mom"_

Anthony Zachary Payton had been Ellie's best friend the first 16 years of her life. Ellie was a typical 'good girl' story in high school. She didn't talk to anyone because she knew nobody from there at the time, they had just moved schools because hers had flew up into flames and the students scattered and she didn't _want_ to know anyone. Her grades were important, not the boys with small arms and peach fuzz or the girls who changed their hairstyles every other week.

She went to school everyday wearing her western riding boots and a flannel shirt, even though she was an english rider 60% of the time. The first day of school had been easy for her, but her Dad was the one who was nervous

_16 year old Ellie sat in the Ram 1500 truck, Double G or Gas-Guzzler as she called him, waiting for her dad to come out of the school. When he finally did she sighed in happiness, turning the key in the ignition and starting it up_

_"Finally" she commented as he sat down and buckled up._

_"Sorry, you're English teacher likes to talk" he grumbled_

_"Mrs. Woodman? I fricken know! I think we did, like, only 15 minutes of work! Then she asked me a bunch of questions and when I mentioned Cyri and Titan she went on a fricken roller coaster of words, I swear!" Ellie leaned back into the seat, her light brown hair (which she inherited from her Paternal Grandmother) resting in the messy straightness it was on her shoulder._

_"Yeah, well you better listen in those fifteen minutes of work! I want you to have a better job then I do." he said. _

_Ellie wanted so bad to roll her eyes. In health class her teacher, Mr. Smith, had told the girls that it was normal for a father to want something better for his daughter, even if his life was perfect._

_"I promise Dad. They accepted me to this school for a reason! Straight 90s remember? I;m a smart one!" she said she said as he pulled out of the parking lot._

_Tony looked at his daughter, a female version of himself (minus the mustache) and smiled. _

_Yeah, so she liked horses! She always put her schoolwork first, her family second, then Cyri and Titan were third, and mechanics came close behind. Horses were important to the little equestrian/cowgirl, so was helping her dad with the truck but school was first._

_"I know" he said gently "I'm the one who signed the mid-term report, remember?" he asked. Ellie laughed, remembering how he had spit out his afternoon coffee when she smiled at him and showed him the 98% average in French._

_"Do you thin I could go see Titan and Cyri?" she asked, looking at the picture of the duo and her in the pasture together "I haven't see them in _**forever**_" she said, emphasizing the over-exaggerated time period, she had seen them 6 days ago_

_"You can't wait 'till your riding lesson tomorrow?" her Dad asked, raising an eyebrow. She sneered at him almost, pushing the eyebrow down. She never could do that._

_"Noooo. Because my lesson is tomorrow at, like, 6! How am I supposed to cope for the next" she paused and counted something with her fingers "27 hours!" she exclaimed as Tony turned right at the stop sign, heading down the gravel back road._

_"I'll get you a new saddle," he bribed "but tonight, we're going to celebrate your grandfather and grandmother John's anniversary. Trevor, Blake and Tiff are coming too" he said, Ellie cringing._

_Tiffany had just re-dyed her pretty red hair. Now it was beach blonde, And Blake had gotten his girlfriend, Sierra, pregnant. They were 17, how were they suppose to support the child? They didn't even work. She was 6 months along, her stomach was big._

_"Is..."_

_"Sierra coming? Yup, you're grandmother wants to see how big she is. I swear your mother's parents need help!" he said._

_"Can't you and I sneak out and visit Grammy and Grampy instead or something?" she asked, much rather going to her _Dad's_ parents house, not her Mom's_

_"Sorry, but this is important to your mother." he said_

_Ellie rolled her eyes_

_"Whatever, you owe me that saddle" she re-confirmed as Tony pulled into his driveway, laughing at her memory._

Ellie knew she and Brittany were the only children that her parent's had that didn't think like her Mom's parents. Trevor thought like Grandpa John, who thought he could do anything and was King of the World, but he was slowly coming around. Tiffany, who was now 26, and Blake, who was 25, thought like Beth's mother. They never thought anything through, and only ever considered themselves in a situation, a thing that bugged Ellie when it came to her family. As they got older, they got smarter, but it was still there.

Tiffany, her older sister, followed in Blake's footsteps. She was now expecting her **fifth** child, luckily with the same man as the first four, Blake had two, Trevor was engaged to a women whom he met through her Mom, and Brittany (her younger sister) was dating someone from her church, and she was the only one without a spouse. Even her mom had tried to get her to date, but it never worked out

_"Mom, I'm 19. I don't __**want**__ a boyfriend! I'm a woman, I don't need a man to be successful. I'm happy the way I am!" she exclaimed. _

_"Elizabeth Payton!"_

_"The second" Britt chimed in, only to be ignored_

_"You are 19! Start looking! If you don't give me grandchildren I'll never forgive you!" her Mom yelled_

_Brittany, 17 years old, was sitting on the couch, scrolling through the channels on T.V, but the fight going on between Beth and Ellie was __**much**__ more entertaining. Beth was leaning against the counter she placed the dinner on and Ellie was pacing back in forth in the kitchen, running her hand through her hair._

_"I'm perfectly happy the way I am! You already have 3 grandchildren! Blake has one, Tiff has 2 and Blake is expecting another! That's technically 4, actually. I stand corrected! You don't need one from me!"_

_Brittany knew that Ellie wasn't interested in many men. They always underestimated her when it came to engines and cars because they thought, since she's a woman, that she couldn't do anything. She always proved them wrong. As it was, Ellie had 2 men interested in her, but she didn't care. They liked her for her looks, not her as a person._

_Brittany remembered the day Ellie brought her to her work at the Mechanics shop she was at, and that day was the day Brittany saw Ellie swear and punch someone in the face. But that day was also the day she learned how good her sister was with engines, and how dedicate she was._

_"Mother! I'm not interested in meeting your church buddy's son!"_

_"Ellie, please tell you're not a..." her mother trailed off. Brittany caught on __immediately_

_"Mom..." she said in a questioning tone as she stood up and walked over to Ellie "Are you accusing Ellie of being a homosexual?" she asked_

_"What?! NO" Ellie exclaimed looking at Britt, then at her Mom_

_"It would explain why you don't want a boyfriend" her mom said "It's nothing to be ashamed of, though the church doesn't like it, we can work past-"_

_"Mom! I am attracted to men! But I will not date any until I find one I actually can __**stand**__" Ellie said, pronouncing every word clearly and slowly_

_Beth looked relieved, but before she could respond, Ellie grabbed the keys to her car, her leather jacket, her steeled toe boots and walked towards the door_

_"Where are you going?" Brittany asked_

_"Crazy, you coming?" Ellie asked, knowing her mother hated it when she didn't have specific details_

_"Sure." Brittany shoved on her little flat shoes, which would be crushed compared to Ellie big boots, and her sweater and walked out the door, closing it behind herself._

_"So," she asked once her and Ellie were seated in Ellie's Camaro "where are we actually going?" she asked_

_"Don't know" Ellie said, shrugging and placing the car in reverse, backing onto the street and looking at her sister "Guess we'll find out when we get there"she responded as she put the car into 1st gear and pushed the pedal down, just as Brittany rolled the window down and 'whoohoo'ed out the side_

A knock on the door brought Ellie out of her thoughts. She walked over to the door and opened it

"Blake?" she asked, and hugged him, doing the same to Sierra.

"Hi Auntie Ellie" her little, 8 year old nephew, their first child, Josh said, smiling; his two front teeth were missing

"What's this?" she asked as she crouched down "did you loose your other tooth?" she asked and he nodded rapidly "Well I hope the tooth fairy came by" she said

Josh held up a 5 dollar bill, smiling.

"Five dollars?" she asked "When I lost my teeth I got 25 cents per tooth" she complained

"Grace got 10 dollars for her first tooth" Blake said as the little 6 year old smiled at her Aunt

"Hi Aunt Ewwie" she said, hugging Ellie

"Hi Sweet Pea" she said. "Do you guys want some cookies?" the two little kids nodded and Josh ran into the kitchen, Grace close behind. Ellie heard chairs scraping the ground and guessed that they were going to sit down at the table or the island

Blake stepped inside, Sierra holding his hand

"Tiff and Jake are close behind. Mom and Dad too. I think Trevs coming with Sally, Britt and Chad, but they'll be here in an hour. We wanted to wish you a happy early Birthday, considering you're working on your birthday" he smiled

Ellie smiled, the idea of all her nieces and nephews

"And Dad's got a big birthday present for you" he said. Ellie groaned. She hated presents, because it meant they spent money on her.

"Ellllliiiiieeeee" she heard Tiffany sing. She perked up, smiling at her sister, who's stomach was big, she was 8 months along

"Tiiiiifffff" she sang back, both of them laughing. Little Sadie, Tiffany's first child, jumped out and squealed

"Aunt Ellie! Mommy's due soon! Where's Titan, and Cyri? And Luna? And-"

"Woah, sweety, they're all in the back right now, we'll all go see them later, alright?" Sadie nodded her head up and down really fast, smiling.

* * *

Ellie's dad came, claiming her present was with Trevor and Brittany.

"Daaad" she complained

"Elllllllliiie" he mocked. She glared at him and smiled

All six of her nephews and nieces, Sadie and Molly(twins), Keiran and Keagan (also twins), Josh and Grace, were eating her cookies. Ellie, her parents, brother and sister were talking about Tiffany's pregnancy

"Names?" Beth asked

"We're thinking of Holly if it's a girl and Dylan if it's a boy." Tiffany smiled, Jacob squeezing her hand. She smiled at him and looked at them "An the twin of Holly or Dylan is going to be Morgan"

Beth's eyes widened, and Tony's shoulders sagged

"Two **again!**" he groaned

"Tiff I can't make that many cookies" Ellie complained and they all laughed

There was a honk outside and Tony perked up again

"Your present's here" he smiled. She eyed him and walked outside. Brittany, Chad and Sally were standing at the front of the truck, waiting. The back of the truck was hitched up to a trailer

"Dad, no" she gasped, looking at him

"Yes" he said as Trevor walked out of the back, leading a horse. The horse was just a little smaller then Titan, probably about 15 point two hands high. She (or he) was a dark chestnut (Copper color) with no facial markings and one stocking on the hind left leg.

"Her name's Melody. Show name was Melody's Symphony. The previous owner bought a younger one and didn't need her. She's 7 years old" he said as the mare looked around. She let out a neigh of curiosity, her stomach shaking as her diaphragm vibrated.

In the background Ellie heard Cyri neigh in return, the herd more then likely coming to see who it was. But the mare in front of her held all her attention.

"She's a Dutch Warmblood." he finished. Ellie walked up to the mare, Melody and stroked her head. The mare tossed her head again, but lowered it again.

"Auntie Ellie!" Keagan said as he came out, the rest of the kids behind him "the ponies are coming!" he exclaimed.

Melody tossed her head, but remained calm.

The other horses came up to the fence, and Cyri extended his nose to the new horse. Melody tried to extend her face, but Ellie held her back.

Cyri may be the calmest, but a new horse would cause any and all of them to strike out if they were un-recognizable.

"Thanks dad" she hugged Tony, and gathered the rope from Trevor

"Happy Birthday sis" he said "Athena" he said, as he walked up to the bay, The little mare neighed at him and pranced, immediately recognizing him. Trevor and Athena had helped each other and Ellie knew they were close. Ellie had helped Athena with being ok with humans and given her a place to continue living, but without Trevor, Athena wouldn't be here.

The little bay pushed against his chest and he laughed

"This is Athena?" Sally asked. Ellie had met Sally once, but not here. They had gone out for breakfast as a family, the first time everybody met Sally. She was a kind women, had a nice head on her shoulders ad always understanding.

"She's cute" she commented, rubbing her face

"Wawwy!" Grace yelled. Wally snorted at her and lifted his top lip, looking dangerously at the new mare

""Let's get you settled" Tony patted her neck and the mare sniffed Ellie's pockets.

Ellie walked towards the barn, Melody following. She put her in the first stall on the right.

"You'll meet the others tomorrow" she said, putting 4 flakes of hay in for the mare. Melody dropped her head an immediately began eating.

Outside the little kids were whining. The horses had run to the back again, trying to be as close to the new horse as possible.

"Come one" Ellie sighed, putting on her western boots. They all cheered and grabbed each other's hand. Keiran, who was 6, grabbed her left hand and Josh grabbed her right. They walked through the field until they reached the 'crossing line' as she called it. It was the imaginary line the weren't aloud to cross because it'd be too dangerous if they did

"Whistle Auntie Ellie" Molly said, waiting, more then likely for Luna. Ellie placed her thumb and her index finger in her mouth, and the children blocked their ears, the whistle was _loud_. She blew air out and the whistle emitted. Cyri was the first to put his head up, but Luna was the first to react. Before even putting her head up, she ran towards them. Molly and Sadie squealed as their little white unicorn (an incident with hair gel and Luna's forelock) ran in their direction.

The adults watched their sister (or in Tony and Beth's case; their daughter) and their kids interact with the horses from the kitchen, the room at the back of the house. Trevor grabbed Sally's hand, Britt grabbed Chad's and the four of them walked out the glass door and towards the kids.

Slowly, one by one, the rest of the adults walked out, Tiffany, Blake and their spouses being the last, seeing as they weren't exactly fans of the horses.

* * *

"Thanks for coming guys, you didn't have to" Ellie said as she hugged Britt.

"No problem. I missed you, and plus Chad wanted to see Cyri again"

"I just can't get over how fuuuuu..." he trailed off a he saw the little kids "uuuuuudging big he is" Ellie and Britt held back a laugh "I mean, he's a monster!" Chad left his mouth open and shook his head as Cyri was being pet by Keiran, the only one with the guts to pet him.

"I know, he's a big boy. Anyway, I'll see you around sis"

"Bye" Ellie said, hugging Britt one more time as they climbed into the truck and trailer

Britt had followed in Ellie's footsteps, and owned a horse, a Quarter Horse name Gabby. She was a cute little thing, but Britt only boarded her somewhere. She didn't have her at home like Ellie; she didn't want her at home like Ellie, only because it was alot of work. Ellie never went on vacations. She couldn't.

Trevor and Sally were staying the night; all three of them were going on a trail ride tomorrow morning before Ellie went to work, so they were settling in the spare bedroom.

Tony and Beth had left already, as had Blake, Sierra, Tiffany and Jacob. The kids had school in the morning. Molly reminded Ellie so very much of Emily. Emily was meant to be the youngest. If she were still alive she would only be 20.

Looking back now, knowing how a child is made, Ellie found it kind of disturbing. _**What**_ did her parents _do_ when she was away?

Ellie smiled when she walked inside, the house was still as clean as it had been before the kids came over. Her siblings may have had kids to early for her liking, but they definitely knew how to raise them

_I can't wait until the teenage years_ she thought sarcastically.

By 8 o'clock, Trevor was still out, he had brought Athena in and was grooming her. Sally wet with him, and they were still in the barn. She had moved Melody further down so that Athena wasn't tempted.

She left a note on the counter for him when he came in and crawled into bed. Tomorrow she had to work. And she was excited!

* * *

**Again, I only own the people who aren't listed or seen in the movies :****)**

**Please Review!Favorite!Follow!**

**BTW: Batak Ponies are not known for that, but I just thought of something up super fast as to why they didn't bid on her**


	5. Chapter 5

**Extremely short, so sorry, but I needed to get this out! Please Review, I have to know what you guys think of whats happening! Love you guys, you're my motivation :)**

**Disclaimer: I only own the people whom you do not see in any of the movies :)**

**Please excuse the spelling errors and/or typos :) Please Review :)**

* * *

The next morning Ellie woke up earlier then normal. Around 6 in the morning she walked out, and straight outside. She opened the main gate, and Cyri turned her head. She motioned for him to 'come'. He trotted over, stopping in front of her. She put a halter on his head, leading him into the barn. She close the door behind him, Melody giving out a shrilling neigh. Cyri's head snapped towards her and he screamed out a neigh. She jumped at the volume of it, but grabbed the bottom of his halter for extra force. Cyri began trotting, bending his neck towards Ellie, like a stallion would around a mare.

She placed him in the stall besides Melody. Immediately Cyri walked to the corner of the stall and sniffed Melody's nose. Melody squealed at him, and lifted her leg to strike.

Ellie panicked, and grabbed Melody's halter, pulling her out of the stall. She put her in the crossties, calming her down. Cyri neighed and Melody craned her neck to try and see him.

"Ellie?" Trevor walked into the barn, leading Athena.

"Hey Trev, would it be alright if I didn't go on the trail this morning? I'm gonna call my employer, ask him to come pick me up early." she said, slowly bringing Melody back to the stall.

"Yeah, sure. Can Sally take Luna?" he asked, brushing Athena down.

"Yup" she said

"Great. Are you actually going to work early on your Birthday?" Trevor asked, kissing Athena on the stomach where he finished brushing.

"Yup, I love my work" she shrugged

Melody sniffed Cyri's nose again and squealed but dropped her head down to eat the hay. Cyri sighed and walked to his hay. Ellie smiled, relaxing. Cyri was comfortable with the new horse.

"Alright, I'll see you later" Ellie said, locking everything.

"Later El" he said, raising a hand in a wave. Ellie saw Wally neigh at her, and she smiled at him.

"Hey Ellie" Sally said, walking out of the house "Is Trevor in the barn?" she asked. Ellie nodded at her and Sally smiled back

"Thanks"

She nodded again and walked inside.

Ellie picked up the phone and looked at the number they gave her. She punched in the numbers and listened to the tone

"Hello, how may I help you?" a feminine voice asked

"Hi, Ellie Payton, employee number 256198. May I speak to Major Lennox, please?"

"Please hold"

Ellie laughed a little as the phone clicked.

"This is Lennox" he said, his voice echoing through the speaker.

"Lennox, it's Ellie. Can you send Epps over early? I'm bored over here" she asked, playing with the phone line.

Lennox laughed at her eagerness "Sure El. He'll be over soon" he stated, and quickly added "See ya soon"

"Later" she said.

It didn't take too long for Sally and Trevor to walk the horses out, both of the mares strutting in their western riding gear. Trevor helped Sally into the saddle before getting on Athena himself. Athena tossed her head.

Ellie watched them walk down her long driveway, before they turned onto the road.

* * *

Not to long after, Epps pulled up into her driveway. But what really caught her attention was, instead of driving the Topkick, he was driving the Peterbilt. The flames, which she had painted less than three days ago, was rough and chipped in different places, but not as bad as it had been when she was first employed.

He hopped out and leaned against the hood. He saw her in the window and smiled, tipping the ball cap he had on. She smiled at him, picked up her clean jumpsuit from the laundry room and picked up her steel toed boots. She wrote a note to Trevor, telling him she'd be back at 5 o'clock to drive them to their apartment. She stuck it on the door, leaving it unlocked for him.

"Ellie" Epps said as she slipped on her jumpsuit, then tied on her boots on to her feet.

"Hey Epps! How ya doin'?" she asked, smiling as she skipped down the steps, up to Epps and hugged him around the waist.

"Hey Beast" she said, widening her eyes before attempting to hug the grill. She laughed at her weak attempt, which was very successful. She skipped to the passenger's side, opening the door and jumping up to the bench. She clicked the seat belt over her chest and smiled, swinging her feet, which didn't touch the ground due to her size

Epps laughed as he pulled himself up

"You seem happy" he commented, turning the truck around, which she didn't think he could do because of how big the truck was

"I am!" she smiled at him "It's my biiirrrttthhhhdaaaayyyyy" she sang, patting the door of the truck, swinging her feet

"Really? How old?" Epps asked. Ellie reached up and slapped him oer the ball cap

"Never ask a women how old she is!" she laughed "I'm 25" she finished.

"Oh you're so young" he said, shaking his head

"I know, you're an oldy" she laughed. He glared at her, but chuckled and shook his head, handing her the blind fold

Optimus saw how happy she was, and wondered why. Weren't women supposed to hate aging? He thought women were always complaining about aging and wishing they could be a teenage child again? Why was this one different.

Epps turned the wheel, turning his alt. mode down the road. Epps noticed her look in their rear view mirror and tense as she was about to put the blind fold on.

"What's wrong?" he asked

"Um.. nothing, it's just, that cop car has passed my house about 5 times in the last three weeks. IT's making me a little nervous. I can never see the driver, but he or she keeps driving closer and closer towards the house every time they pass." she finished, placing it over her eyes, and tieing it in the back.

Epps looked in his rear view mirror _Barricade_. His phone rang and and he looked at the I.D. It was Optimus' .

"Give me a sec" he said, hitting the call button and placing the phone to his ear

"**I've contacted Ironhide. He's going to meet us at the front of the base, Barricade cannot know the location. Take Ellie back with you.**" A quickly as he started the call, he ended it, before Optimus made a sharp turn down a back road.

"Get ready to get out. We're going to switch to the Topkick, Lennox will pick this one up after. I'll guide you" he said.

"What!?" she asked, turning towards him even though she couldn't _actually_ see him.

"Don't worry" he reassured as Optimus turned down the base's road. Ironhide was there, further from the base then he'd mentioned and his engine onlined as Optimus slowed down, not a lot, but a few mph. Just as Optimus was actually slow down, Barricade came speeding down the road, transformed and shot at him. Optimus' altmode went onto two wheels, forcing him to transform.

Ellie and Epps flew, both knowing what to do in the situation of being suspended mid-air and they both grunted when they landed. Epps looked at Ellie. Her blindfold had fallen off and she was standing up.

Ellie felt herself soar through the air, and it reminded her of being bucked off of Cyri or Titan. She knew how to land in this... situation, and braced herself. She felt the blindfold come off and stood up to see what happened

When she opened her eyes what she saw made her want to almost scream, but she didn't. Two mechanical beings, robots almost, were locked in hand-to-hand combat. One was extremely smaller then the other, black and white. He looked like... the police car! The other was tall, probably about 32 feet, or so.

Ellie heard and engine revv and turned her head to see ... the Topkick. The one she always wound up working on. Whoever was driving him, was going **way **fast. Suddenly a whirring sound emitted and the truck... _transformed_. She watched in amazement as metal plates, tires and engine parts moved, slid and replaced themselves

"Sideways!" a bellow came from the little black and white police car that was fighting.

A fancy sports car, Silver and Black drove up fast, and transformed too, crashing into the big one and sending him to the ground.

The police car looked around, his red, mechanical eyes landing on her. He ran over, outstretched his hand and, faster then she cared to process, he snatched her up and transformed down, into the police car.

"ELLIE!" Epps yelled.

The seatbelt wound around her waist, another restricting her arms

"Let me go!" she cried, struggling to get out. The police car turned around and drove off, the sports car following. Ellie looked behind her and saw the two mechanical... men, basically, looking around, before the big one looked in her direction and his eyes widened.

* * *

Epps stood in the middle of the road, watching Barricade drive away with Ellie

"Sergent Epps, where is Ellie?" Optimus asked. Eppps lifted his hand, pointing to the retreating cars. Optimus looked in that direction, and his eyes widened when he understood. The decepticons weren't trying to find the base's location, they were going for an asset. Something that would make the Autobots go to _**them**_.

Ironhide growled and took a shot, but the two retreating Cons turned down a road and the shot hit a tree instead.

"Get in" Optimus said, opening his door to his Alt. Mode. Epps' shoulders sagged an he jumped up, no motivation to do so whatsoever

Ironhide followed, and as they reached the base, Lennox threw his hands up, smiling

"What took you so long?" he laughed as Epps got out, and walked around him. Optimus and Ironhide transformed up and Lennox gave them a questioning glance

"Where's Ellie?" he asked

Optimus' eyes whirred as he looked down and the Major Lieutenant

"The Decepticons have her"

* * *

**Oooh Cliffhanger! Please, please, please review! What do you think of the Decepticons taking Ellie? Good? Bad? Yay? Nay? Your choice! I have two variations as to how this can turn out! Do they use her as a bribe? Or do the Autobots rescue their little (emphasis on little) mechanic? Tell me in the Reviews! Love you**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers or the characters, only my OCs :)**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hello loves! I'm back, sorry for the wait, exams are coming up and it's getting stressful, especially when my exams are this close, but I am back**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Transformers or any characters you see in the movies or cartoons, just Ellie and the rest of MY OCs. Das it! **

**Please review you guys, it really does help! :) Thanks!**

**Sorry for the short update, will try to lengthen the next one!**

* * *

"Where are we going?"

That was the question the squishy little human femme that was sitting in Barricade's , almost infecting his black leather seat, kept asking, prying.

"Quiet, human" he growled, tightening the seat belt around her chest. Barricade heard her wheeze just a little before she shook her head.

"What do you want with me?" she asked, trying to fill her lungs with equal amounts of air. She was wondering why the police car had chosen _her_, or better yet, what it _was_. It had just **stood** up, as did the black truck and the Peterbilt. She had cleaned after those cars, buffed them, looked after them **everyday**, but she hadn't known what they could do, until now!

"You are the bait" the car growled. She shivered at the menacing tone, causing him to chuckle darkly.

"Bait for what? What are you?" she asked in quiet tone, an almost-whisper.

"We are Decepticons. The filthy scum" he practically growled "you work for are called Autobots. We come from the planet Cybertron"

Just as he said that, a screen came out of the dashboard and started playing a video. The scenery on the screen was dark, and looked like the middle of a... war.

"Lord Megatron wanted Cybertron for himself, to rule it. The only way for him to do that was via the Allspark."

"The Allspark?" she asked, tilting her head a little.

"Yes. It is raw power. The Allspark alone had the ability to turn any planet in the cosmos into a re-make of Cybertron. The Allspark was released from Cybertron, for protection from the mighty Lord, but he followed it. Megatron managed to track it here to earth. Not to long after, maybe 50 or 60, maybe 70 years later, he awoke from his sleep and in the end, the dirty scum of what you call..._ employers _managed to destroy the cube and Megatron in the process."

"Then, why are you still here? And what am I bait for?" she asked, really only expecting him to answer one of the two question asked.

"We are here to **end** the Autobots. We started this war and the Decepticons will finish it... on this planet." he growled. Much to her surprise, he went on to answer her second question

"You are employed to them. You are **important** to them. If I have you, Starscream and I can lure them to us, we can defeat them there. Then you" he added afterwards.

His tone was a warning for Ellie to stop talking, but she didn't. There was still questions on her mind

"What;s your name? And what's the name of the cars I work with?" was her reply, probably the last question.

"My name is Barricade" the insides of the car rumbled, as he turned down a deserted road, away from the city. The little screen on his dashboard came back to life, popping up an image of the cars she always thought to be just that; cars.

The first one was the little shiny Corvette. The picture was a close up of the car, before it switched to a robot, obviously smaller on screen. This robot had wheels for feet. His chest was pointy, it was the back of the Corvette. In the picture, he had two blades on each hand, extended out, and his fists were balled up. Ellie found his head quite intriguing. It almost looked like it surrounded by fish fins. Two on the top of his head, one on each side just past his cheeks, where, if he were human, his hair line would start. His eyes were a vibrant blue

"Sideswipe" Barricade said. _Sideswipe, hmm_ she thought as the picture changed.

This picture was the big black truck that normally picked her up, with Epps. Again, to was a close up of his... vehicle form, was the best way Ellie could think of it right now. Then it switched to his, for a lack of better words, robot form. He was definatley bigger the 'Sideswipe'. His chest alone, was twice the size. On each arm was, what looked like, huge cannons or guns. A weapon of _some_ kind any way. His face was more worn out then the previous 'Autobot's' It looked like he had a giant scar over his right, or Ellie's left, eye, but that didn't stop it from shining the same vibrant blue as Sideswipe's. On each side of his face were long, panel like extensions that connected with silver round plates. Both round plates had foreign writing on them. His force was stitched into a scowl, but there was more then likely a good reason for that.

"Ironhide" was what Barricade said. He was seeing her face through all of this. She was interested, intrigued. He thought she'd be shaking or scared, the fact that she had been working on an entirely different species, from another planet on top of that, but no; she watched the screen as it changed again, and he thought that she didn't see her blink from the minute he started showing her this.

The next picture was of the emergency Hummer. When the picture changed from the vehicle close up to the robot, it was **not** what she expected. She figured he'd look younger, but she physically jumped back in the seat a little. Around his mouth, metal plates formed together, looking like a goatee. Yellow painted metal covered over his head. His chest was the front of the Hummer. His face was emotionless, but he eyes were shining that blue color.

"Ratchet"

Ellie thought the next picture she saw was going to be the last, it was the picture of a yellow Camaro, black racing stripes running down the hood. Once the picture switched, Ellie had to stop the small smile from gracing her face. This robot's face was almost baby-ish. He had big eyes, almost too big for his head. Instead of a mouth, he had what _looked_ like a speaker. He had two yellow tube-like things right above his cheeks.

"Bumblebee" Barricade said, and saw her shake her head in a nod. She was clearly remembering him, or his Alt. mode at least.

He switched the screen and Ellie widened her eyes when she saw the truck, maybe temporarily forgetting about him.

When Ellie saw him, she tried so hard not to widen her eyes. Just the close up of the Perterbilt, alone, would've been enough for her to gasp out loud, but the grip she had on her tongue, using her teeth, was more then enough to stop herself. When the picture changed from the vehicle close up to the actual robot, Ellie actually had to intake a breath, but, luckily for her, it wasn't loud enough for Barricade to hear.

The robot form she was staring at was obviously the one Barricade had attacked. He was bigger then the others. On the top of his head, it was painted blue. He had sharp ridges on the top of his head, one on each side, almost like ears that pointed upwards; antennas almost. His eyes looked thinner then the others, but that didn't mean they shone any less, they resembled to humans the most; much more then the other robot's, in Ellie's opinion. He had 4 round plates, 2 on each side, right under his antenna/ear thingys. On each side on his face he had blue ... cheek plates. That's what they looked like. Between them, looked like a piece of outwardly dented metal, a ridge or... a nose. Underneath his metal nose were, what looked like, metal lips; his mouth. Right under **that** was a piece of blue metal in the form of a tube creating a chin. His chin had another piece of blue metal, much deeper in color, running down the middle of it, and connected almost to the top of his bottom lip. The front of his chest was, what looked like, the front of his truck mode, including the windshield on the top. Right next to his chest was probably his truck's doors. The flames of the truck's hood were showed off on his shoulders and the doors next to his chest. His legs were long, the metal armor that fitted over shins extended into a cover for half of his thighs. From the middle of his thigh up to his waist was metal that fit onto his metal body. One thing that caught her attention the most was his feet. While the other had feet that looked like mountain-type things, and Sideswipe's were wheels, his feet resembled most to a human's. He had two toe-like things, a space in between them. On the armor that covered his shins were the rest of the painted flames. On the back of his shins, up to his waist, maybe his hips, were tires.

Ellie found him actually kind of ... _cute_. For a robot.

"_Optimus Prime_" Barricade hissed, the windows shaking a little. Ellie jumped back a little and looked out the window. They turned down onto another road, much more deserted and Ellie was lucky enough to see the sign before they turned into an abandoned factory. She noted the name, but didn't say anything.

"What's wrong with Optimus Prime?" I asked, drawing my eyebrows together.

"He's the leader of the Autoscums" he growled "Our arch enemies. Everything is wrong with him." he growled again.

Ellie stopped talking, looking out the window.

"Barricade!" a screech, sounding really high pitched, emitted from... somewhere in the building. Ellie let out a screech as Barricade transformed around her and she ended up in his hand; he squeezed her tightly and she wheeze. A robot came out from a back room. His primary color was grey, and on his back looked like the wings of a plane or jet, making his upper torso resemble to a triangle. His head was round on the top, his mouth looking like mix between a speaker and an actual metal mouth. His eyes, instead of being the bright blue she had seen a little while ago, his were crimson **red**.

"Starcream" Barricade grumbled

'Starcream' laughed, looking at Ellie

"I see you have our bait" he smiled, a scary smile that was directed straight at Ellie. She swallowed, hoping that she would be rescued particularly soon.

* * *

"Optimus! We can't just sit here! We have to do something" Ironhide yelled at Optimus, pacing back and forth.

Optimus had called the order of not following Barricade or Sideways; Ironhide objected.

"Come on! She's our mechanic! Meaning she isn't just a government's employee, she's **ours**. We don't need the human's approval to go and save he-"

"Enough Ironhide!" Optimus boomed. His voice didn't carry annoyance or irritation, despite the fact that Ironhide had been talking for the last 30 minutes and he had enough of it. His voice carried patience; he was annoyed but wasn't going to let it show "We will not be engaging the Decepticons. Not until we are positive of the location and can extract Ellie safely. They chose her for a reason" he said, his optic whirring around a little as he looked at Ironhide, turning his body to face Ironhide completely "She's their bait, the bait for our demise" he finished, leaving no room for a response.

"Optimus" Lennox called him from the raised catwalk "We _do_ need to get her back" Lennox pointed out

"Shit!" Epps yelled from Optimus' foot "What about her horses? They need to be looked after too" he stated

"She has 5 horses, they do need to be looked after" Lennox pointed out to Mearing

"6" Epps corrected

"No, she has 5" Lennox looked down at him

"She has 6 of them. She apparently got one for her birthday. " Epps shrugged.

"They will be tended to. We will take turns escorting one of you to her property and you can look after them. We will gather information on horse care and aid you as well" Optimus said, nodding to Lennox

"Alright, so it's settled. Some of you will take turns caring for her animals. She will not be rescued until we can make up a plan and the minimal destruction will be the product of the rescue. Done" Mearing said as she straightened up from leaning against the metal railing.

The Autobots watched as all the humans filtered out, Lennox, Epps and Graham, and few other soldiers were left

"Optimus" Ironhide said, a small plead just hinting it's way into his voice, though it couldn't be heard "Are we really just going to stand here and do nothing?" (**Anyone recognize Jazz's words from Transformers 1? Yeah!) **

"We have no choice, Ironhide. It is not safe to rescue her now" he responded, looking away "but we will think of something" he finished as Lennox looked up at him an sighed

Ellie would be rescued, just not today.

* * *

**And... done! What do you think? I did my best to describe the 'bots, but it was tricky! Please R&R, I love you all, thank you everyone!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey guys, longer chapter! Hope you enjoy this! Please Review! **

* * *

The next morning was quiet. Epps had almost forgotten that Ellie wasn't waiting at her house for him to go pick her up. He'd gotten ready to go, blindfold in hand, and... remembered he would going to nothing.

It had been decided that Optimus would go with Lennox and Epps to Ellie's house to care for her animals, accompanied by Ironhide for backup, just in case. Optimus had done research the night before and knew what he needed to do for the beings.

Both Epps and Lennox were not looking forward to this. But when Optimus had called their names, they knew they had to do it either way.

"You remember the way?" Epps asked

"Affirmative, we will be there shortly" he responded, rolling out of the base.

During the whole ride, not one word was said. Optimus was not usually one to talk so he enjoyed silence, but _this_ silence was awkward uncomfortable. When he pulled into the long driveway and made it to the house, both military men jumped out, closing the door behind them before Optimus activated his holoform. Lennox and Epps looked towards him, taking in his human form.

The holoform stood at 6 ft 5, probably. He wore dark blue jeans, that tucked into boots and a red long sleeve shirt. You could see his arm muscles through the shirt, and his shoulder muscles, and just seeing **that ** would drive any female crazy. His chin and jaw line were lined with just a _little_ bit of hair, almost impossible to see. His eyes were the same vibrant blue as his bipedal form had. His hair wasn't long, it didn't pass his holorform's ears, but it wasn't short. He was tanned, not overly, but he **definatley** wasn't pale, unlike Ironhide. He looked to be in his late 20s.

Ironhide's holoform was just a little bit shorter then Optimus, maybe 6 ft 3. He wore black jeans, tucked into black work boots, by the looks of it, and a black shirt and a leather jacket, except his shirt had an Autobot face, outlined in white, right over his torso. He had a military cut and hair on the bottom of his chin. He had a scar over his eye, a representation of his **actual** scar. His eyes were the same as Optimus', vibrant blue. He was bigger in his shoulder's and his arm muscles popped as well. He looked like he was, maybe late 30s, early 40s.

Epps walked up to the door of Ellie's house and, on the door was a note that read

'_Ellie, I called Dad, he picked us up. Sally wanted to leave early. I put everybody in the field, even the new horse Melody. They accepted her easily, no fights. I promise. Love ya and I'll see ya later :) Door's unlocked, Trev_' He peeled it off and handed it to Lennox, who nodded

"Alright, the horses ar-" he was cut off by a shrill neigh. Titan charged up to the fence, and snorted, sticking his head over the fence. Ironhide eyed him

"What is _that?_" he asked "Do I shoot it?" Lennox laughed. He extended a hand to pet the horse. The horse eyed his hand before screaming. Lennox and Epps quickly pulled back as the horse trotted in a circle, his tail raised. Titan let out another scream, lifting himself onto his back feet (a rear) and swung his front feet around.

Optimus found his behavior odd. Online, he had read that most horses were very welcoming and friendly, so why was this one different. Ironhide had tensed up, his hand hovering over the little human gun he always carried, looking at Optimus, who nodded 'no'. This was not an animal that was to be shot.

Just as Optimus looked back at the horse, the other horses came running up, bucking at each other. One horse, a big, skinny, tall black horse, threw his head around, then rested it over the gate, looking at each of their... pockets? The horse who had come up to the gate first was a, what looked like, type of grey. One was a copper brown, and was kind of off to the side, wandering. Two of the smaller ones, one white and one brown with black hair, were being pet by Lennox and Epps.

Optimus couldn't stop watching the grey one. He was still 'trotting' in a circle, snorting and raising his head

"This is Luna.. I think" Lennox said, rubbing the little white one's head "and that's Athena" he pointed to the one Epps was petting "They're females". The two little ones they were petting walked off and were replaced with the tall black one and the original one that came up, who was now calmer. Epps pet the grey one an Lennox pet the black one

"This is Titan" Epps said, petting the grey one "an that's Wally... right?" he asked Lennox, who nodded a 'yes'. "The males"

"Well, that must be the new one" Lennox nodded towards the copper brown (Chestnut) one.

"She's cute" the newest addition looked at the men, before walking, hesitantly, over. Epps reached up to pet her neck, looking at the halter on her face

"Melody" he read aloud, looking at Epps, who shrugged. 'Melody' snorted and trotted off as Cyri walked over

Ironhide straightened up, tensed, and Optimus' eyes widened when they saw this one. He was _huge_. At his head, he was taller then _Optimus'_ holoform. He was a yellow-ish color with black hair. His face was bare, no, what Optimus learned was called 'markings', on his face, both of his eyes were dark brown. He made a sound as he came up to the fence. Lennox extended his hand to stroke his face. He lowered his head, and Epps joined in, petting the other side of his face.

"This is Cyri. He reminds me al ot of you, Big Man" he said, looking at Optimus, who lifted an eyebrow, a questioning look gracing his face

"How do I remind you of an organic being that was created on Earth?" he questioned. Just as Lennox was about to respond, a squeal came from the background, causing all of them, horse, human and holoform alike, to look t it's source. Titan was chasing Luna, trying to bite her rump. Cyri raised his head and emitted a sound from deep in his throat. The grey horse looked up at him, then chased the little one again. Luna ran up to Cyri, who stepped in front of her. Titan went to round Cyri, but Cyri's front feet followed Titan's direction, stopping him from following the little white horse. Cyri stomped his foot and a short, but stern scream came from his throat, almost like it was a command. Titan stopped, looking at Cyri, then snorted.

Titan turned around and walked towards the herd. Cyri turned his neck and nudged Luna in the shoulder. She nickered up at the big boy, then trotted off towards Wally.

Optimus watched as Cyri waited for part of his herd to return to the rest, and calm settled upon them,. The horse turned his head back to the men in front of him, looking at Optimus' holoform. That's when he understood what Lennox had meant.

Cyri was the top of the herd. Cyri was to his herd of horses, what Optimus was to his group of Autobots. A safe. Someone they can go to when they needed help. He was the leader. And, in that moment, Optimus was able to see himself in the horse. Granted this horse was created on _Earth_, wasn't 32 feet tall, couldn't speak English and wasn't made of metal, but non the less, he could see himself.

Ironhide was still eyeing them though.

"Come on, let's go find a hose to fill up the water thingy here" Epps said, tapping the water trough. Epps and Lennox walked towards the house, Ironhide and Optimus following. Ironhide didn't take his eyes off of the horses, not until Optimus sighed and told him to. Epps grabbed the hose, un-winding it and pulling toward the fence. Lennox turned the handle and the hose nozzle spit out a little water, then stopped.

"It must not be on inside. Optimus can you go in the house and check out this side of the wall? Turn on the hose if you see it?" Leenox asked. Optimus nodded and walked up the stairs. He opened the door and closed it behind him as he stepped inside.

To his right, immediately, was a bathroom, followed by a living room of sorts. The basement was straight ahead, through a walkway. To his left was the kitchen, open concept dining room as well. The walls were glass in the kitchen, and there was a door implanted in the glass. He could see the horses through the glass and walked into the living room.

He walked around. There was a staircase that followed the wall as it went up, a balcony at the top. He saw a couch facing a flat screen T.V. The room was spacious and on one side was almost empty. On the other side was what actually _looked_ like a living room. The walls were painted a type of bright blue; Rainwater blue The back of the large couch was facing him, the large flat screen T.V attached to the wall. There was a few chairs an a coffee table in the middle of it. Off to the side was a basket of toys for smaller children. As he scanned the room he noticed a little nozzle on the farthest wall and walked over to it. He turned it to the left, and hear Epps yelp outside. He turned and walked out, looking at the paintings on the wall. Most looked professionally done, but some were pieces of paper and drawn with crayons and looked like they were drawn by younger children.

He couldn't help himself. He stepped across the hall, into the kitchen. The walls were glass, a door was implanted in the glass. The fridge and stove were opposite to the wrap around counter, which circled the entire West end of the room, and half of the North end, against the actual **wall**. The wrap around counter had a dishwasher, a sink and plenty drawers. On the actual wall behind him, a door, with the label that read 'Pantry'.

He walked back out, and into the living room, only this time, he followed up the stairs. The big set of stairs were placed against the wall, obviously to avoid running into them. When he finally reached the top, he was on a wooden balcony which overlooked the living room. As soon as he turned around, he then realized why the living room was so big and empty. The 'uptairs' section was almost half the size of the house.

There was only a few doors, one led into a big bedroom, most presumably hers. Her room was a shade of purple; Orchid. On one side, she had nothing but pictures, paintings, etc. The wall that the bed, which was a King sized, was leaned up against had one big painting of her and the largest horse that was out there, the one identified as "Cyri'. This confirmed his suspicions that he was important to her. A walk-in closet, which was currently open, held a dresser and other various things, some on shelves, others racks. She had a desk on one side of the room, and a leather, black spinning chair, and exactly opposite of that was an extremely large bookcase and chair. Along the top border of the room, around the whole room, ribbons of various colors hung, some saying 'First Place', some saying 'Grand Champion' and others saying 'Most Commendable Jump'.

The room across the hall was a beige, with nothing really exciting going on. There was one bed, probably a Queen sized, a bed side table and a brown bed spread. A painting of a lake scenery hung on the east wall, nothing else. There was a closet, closed, and a lamp in the corner, as well as one on the bed side desk. There was a chair in the corner, in front of the lamp and a book shelf next to it.

There was a bathroom, nothing to exciting. It had a shower cubicle, a toilet, sink, a bathtub and a closet for materials. There was a counter propped against the wall, just below a big mirror, and the counter had cabinets on the bottom. There was a towel rack attached to the glass of the shower cubicle, two towels on it, and another one on the outside of the bathtub. A full length mirror was propped against the wall

At the very end of the hall a very large open concept area was filled with younger children's toys, a smaller T.V and maybe a dozen chairs, as well as a four person sofa. There was a Computer and a plugged in Laptop on a desk at one side of the room, and a bathroom not to far from there. A fireplace, installed in the wall, was at the back, the logs weren't burnt and black. The walls were white, as was the rug, but everything was clean. There was a small closet in the corner of the room

He exited into the hallway, down the stairs and towards the door. This time he noticed, not only the bathroom, but another room that human's so often referred to as the 'Laundry Room'. There were two machines, shelves and a pile of clothes sitting in a corner, waiting to be washed

When he did exit the house, closing the door behind, and making sure it wasn't locked, to see Epps wet and holding the hose into the trough. Lennox was laughing and Ironhide was grinning at him, but he wasn't close to the horses, even though one was stretching his head towards him, obviously seeking his attention

"Just pet him Ironhide" Lennox shook his head. Ironhide eyed the horse, lifted his hand and ever so gently place it on his head. The black horse, Wally, sighed through his nose when he did that. Ironhide removed his hand, and went back to eyeing him, but wasn't as tense as before.

Optimus reached the group of men, Lennox smiled at him.

"When you turned the hose on Epps wasn't ready for the water and got wet! Ha!" he laughed, pointing at Epps, who growled and shook his head. The water from the hose spluttered but kept going strong.

"Now I have to change when we get back" he grumbled

A little smile broke out onto Optimus' face and chuckled silently as Epps shook his head, rubbing the top of his head. After a moment of silence Ironhide spoke, his words making everybody laugh

"Are you _sure_ I can't shoot them?"

* * *

Ellie was lucky, and was thankful. The... Decepticons? They hadn't done anything to her. Yet. Barricade had been instructed to put her into the room she was currently sitting in. The room was small, with one bed and a tiny window at the very top of the wall. The walls weren't even plaster. They were cement. Dark and grey and the smell! Ugh! It made her sneeze.

The door creeked open and her eyes flicked towards the sound. The Decepticon that had captured her, Barricade, came driving in and a human stepped out, placing a tray of food on the bed, in front of her. He backed up and looked at her. She looked at him. Neither said anything, but Ellie was **extremely **confused

"Who are you?" she asked. He blinked, rubbing his forehead.

"I'm the holoform representation of Barricade" he responded. She looked at him, taking him in

He had black hair, swept to one side. His eyes were brown, but with a close look you could see red. He was wearing a police uniform, _go figure_, and black boots. Nothing really exciting about him.

"So, it' still you, just not in robot form?" she asked

"Bipedal form" he corrected "And yes, it's still me. Now eat" he said, turning around and walking towards ... himself.

She looked down at the plate and cringed. Chicken and potatoes. She picked up the fork, cringing as he exited the room.

They didn't exactly taste like potatoes but, they weren't meat, so she continued. Once she finished the potatoes, she placed the meat on the table stand next to her, dropped the fork and sighed.

It hadn't taken much longer for Barricade to return which gave her suspicions that there were cameras in her room.

"Why didn't you eat the poultry?" he growled, picking up the plate.

"I'm a vegetarian" was her simple response, but Barricade's face told her that he didn't understand "Being a vegetarian mean my diet contains no meat. No animals have to die for me to sustain myself. I still eat eggs and all that stuff, but I don't eat _meat_" she emphasized and he nodded, putting the plate on the seat.

"Alright. Do you need clothes?" he asked. Ellie was shocked at how nice he was being. She was too shocked to speak and nodded a 'yes'. He grunted, nodded and fizzled out. _Fizzled_ out! Her eyes widened. He was gone in a shower of sparkles! The 'car' him backed out and the door closed behind himself.

She pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, placing her head on her knees. She shivered as she felt the cold of outside starting to creep over her. She heard the door open and close quickly and looked over to see a pair of Pj pants and a long sleeve top.

She jumped up and ran over picking them up. The door opened again and closed behind it and a pair of under garments fell onto the floor. She picked them up, surprised that they had gotten the ... bra size right...

She switched everything, cuddling into the warmth. She placed the old, used clothes next to her bed. The bed spread was thin and flimsy and offered little protection against the cold, but it offered **some **kind of protection.

The light that was available to her sight was slight, and she knew it was past 9 o'clock... at least.

She closed her eyes, praying that she would fall asleep. But she didn't.

That night she didn't sleep. She couldn't sleep. She was scared and was going to happen to her when they were finished with the Autobots? What would happen to Autobots?

The one question that ran through her mind the most was _How do I get out of here in one piece?_

What scared her the most was the fact that, she may not get out alive. It's not like anybody would come for her. Her parents wouldn't know. Hell, she only found out about the Autobots an Decepticons **today. **Would N.E.S.T come for her?

_Probably not _ she thought_ I'm just the _mechanic_. I'm nothing special to them. I can be replaced._

What about Cyri? Her horses? They had enough food and water to last a little bit, but eventually the water would run out. How would they cope? Or live?

It was already the next day. The sun had just started coming in through the small window, and the cold started to decrease, warmth filling it spot.

She sat up, placing her feet on the ground. She had kept her socks on, they were still white. When she glanced around the room, she saw one camera, almost too small to see. It was placed on the inside of the cement wall, and there was a red light flashing.

A live feed video camera.

* * *

**Have a good day and don't forget to review! Thanks guys and girls!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Wow! Two updates in two days! And this one is probably my favorite, just cause! **

**Disclaimer: I only own Ellie and my other OCs, I am not the owner of anybody you see in the movies & cartoons!**

**Enjoy and don't forget to Review!**

* * *

Seventeen days! It had been seventeen _excruciating_ lonely days, in counting, that Ellie had been in Decepticon captivity.

She had become familiar with the routine. Wake up earlier then anybody, even the Decepticons, because she couldn't sleep, walk over to the camera in the wall, stare at it for an hour, plan her escape for two hours, worry about the horses for fifteen minutes, sit down and stare at the wall for five minutes, then change into the clothes Barricade brings and finally eat breakfast. Then she had to sit in the room, doing nothing until, he brought her dinner, minutes before it was time to sleep, then it was time for her to sleep, which she couldn't do.

Luckily for her, she had found her phone in her old pant pocket. Her phone, which she had permanently kept off the day she found it, as not to kill it, sat underneath her pillow and hadn't moved in sixteen days.

In the phone was a map that connected to the satellites, so she had a map, an emergency 100 dollar bill, which had been there for close to four months, so she had money to buy some food for the road ahead. She had also managed to sneak one article of clothing a day. So she had one whole outfit for the road. Now, all she had to do was wait.

Starscream always opened the window at night, from the outside, so that the room was aired out. In the wall, she'd noticed holes, making steps for her. They were small, but she either had to try getting out, or die trying.

She hated it here. She wanted to go home, and she wasn't going to sit there, like a damsel in distress. She was a women! She could do anything, if she set her mind to it. She didn't need _men_ to **save,** though they could help. She could do this alone.

Barricade entered the room, placing a pair of clothes on the floor, as well as a bowl of chicken broth. He walked out, not saying anything. Ellie bit her tongue, listening, but her shoulders sagged when she heard the locks being moved.

She moved over to the food. The t-shirt was black, with a red Decepticon's symbol on it. She rolled her eyes at that. The socks were white ankle socks, and shorts red. They were short, but not to short. Nothing was shown that shouldn't be shown, and she felt covered up in them, so she was alright with them.

By now, even without a mirror, she could tell what she looked like. She _had_ to have bags under her eyes, she hadn't slept very much, maybe an hour a night every second night. Her hair wasn't knotty, but it wasn't clean either. Everyday she would either sweat from the heat of the room or shiver from the cold night air, and her hair needed to be washed.

She needed to get home. And if help hadn't come by now, it wouldn't be coming at all. Period.

She was very thankful, Starscream hadn't tried to even make contact with her. She'd only ever seen Barricade, but the longer she stayed around, the colder he got. They hadn't touched her yet, but the solitude was driving her nuts. One night Starscream had entered her room, and circled her, like a tiger. She felt so small and alone. He taunted her a little, telling her his ... 'plans', then he'd leave. He did that twice in a row, then stopped. She was starting to have nightmares, remembering things from the night she was abducted. Dreaming up what might possibly happen.

Sometimes, she'd dream up the 'Autobots' too. She'd see them, fighting. The dreams never ended well, for them, but they were there.

Her broth was horrible. It was cold, not warm, and had nothing in it. It was just liquid flavor. She was happy that nothing was killed, but this wasn't food, yet she was hungry enough to eat what she could, without feeling sick. Half the bowl was left, but she knew she wouldn't be able to eat the rest of it.

When it came to the bathroom, well... a bucket. It was cleaned out the following morning, but all Ellie could do was **pee**. She 'd been eating nothing but _broth_ for 16 days, her stomach had no solid food to digest.

The smell of the cement walls were starting to get to her. It smelt like moss and bacteria, this **had** to be bacteria. Whenever it rained, the water seeped through the walls. Her stomach churned, and she felt like she would bring her dinner back up, but she closed her eyes and straightened her breathing. When she opened her eyes, everything spun a little, then straightened out. She sat down on the bed and looked at the wall.

She was hoping that, when she **did **get to finally see the sun, if she got to see the sun, it wouldn't blind her.

Barricade opened the door, seeing the fleshy sitting down on the human bed. She was just staring at the wall, not saying anything. He looked down, seeing the bowl of her broth, half full, on the floor.

He growled, picking it up with his holoform and placed it on the passenger seat, deactivating his holoform. He sped out of the room, locking the door behind himself.

When he got to the main room, he transformed up and threw the dinner into the garbage.

"Starscream, when are we going to take action?" he growled "We are wasting our time. She isn't becoming of use to us, she's dead weight" he narrowed his optics and looked at the makeshift 'leader' "What exactly is your plan for her?" he questioned, waiting for Starscream's answer

Starscream shifted his weight "We'll figure something out, alright, just give me time" he screeched

"Megatron would've planned everything _before_ taking in the fleshy. He would've done it the way a **leader** should, the correct way. He wouldn't have made a mistake" Barricade hissed, causing Starscream to swoop around, glaring daggers at his partner

"Don't you say that! Megatron made plenty mistakes, that's why I am your leader now!" he yelled, his voice getting higher and higher as he continued

"Whatever, but if you don't figure out something soon, I'm going to finish it for you" he growled, transforming down and driving over to Sideways' alt. mode, resting next to him

Starscream averted his optics towards the screen in front of him. The human femme was, indeed sitting on her bed, doing absolutely nothing. She sat on the bed, staring at the wall

_Humans_ he though in utter disgust, transforming down to his alt mode and flying outside. The wind was warm, but barely there. It was cold out, and he chuckled darkly as he opened the window, before transforming and flying into the main room, settling beside the cars and falling into recharge

* * *

"Alright!" Lennox yelled, closing the map he held and nodding at Epps "We're heading out to scout for Ellie Payton. Do _**not **_engage unless you absolutely need to" he finished, looking at Ironhide in particular, before hopping into his seat. Epps climbed into the passenger seat, and a bunch of recruits jumped into the box, while some military vehicles started.

Optimus and Ratchet were the only ones who were empty. Sideswipe and Bumblebee had 5 men in their alts, and the triplets had two men each.

Ironhide went first, everybody following, Optimus bringing up the rear.

They had been ordered to do a scouting mission, looking for signs of Ellie, anywhere, and **not** to engage unless they _absolutely_ had to.

It didn't take long for them to reach a deserted road, nothing but open ground surrounding them. Bumblebee, being the actual scout of the group, was out front, probably already doing what he did best

"What exactly are we lookin' for 'Bee?" Epps asked through the radio

"Now young man...there's always... one dead... giveaway" he chose clips from radio reports, songs and radio talk shows

Lennox laughed when he heard Ellen DeGeneres' voice say 'giveaway'

"And what's that, Little Bug?" he teased

There was a moment of silence, he was obviously looking for the right words over the radio frequency

"Abandonment-t" crackled through the radio

"Bumblebee is right" Ratchet added in "They may be Decepticons, but they have a history of choosing abandoned sites to hole up in" he finished.

"Alright" Lennox said. It had taken some time, but they finally found something.

"Major Lennox! Abandoned barn, to the right"

Lennox looked, seeing it, and was about to give the order to check it out, but Ironhide cut him off

"Too obvious. Too open, they're not going to hole up somewhere that you could see from a main highway, dumbafts" he added the last word under his breath.

"Alright, keep going"

* * *

Ellie pressed her ear to the door, trying to hear something, _anything_, but it had been, probably, using her best assumption, half an hour since they had fallen asleep.

It was time for her to leave.

What Starscream didn't know, was that the window, the one that he had seemed dead set on saying no human would or could fit through, was big enough for Ellie, and her 5 ft 2 frame, to slip through.

She reached underneath her bed, picking up a bag she had found under this bed, probably from before. Inside it was her spare set of clothes, her jumpsuit and work boots. She snapped it on, tying the black straps together for extra support. She slipped off her shoes, her socks soon following, and walked over to the wall. She placed the white socks over the camera lens, blocking it's view. She put her shoes back on. Barricade had given her a pair of Nike sneakers, so she didn't have to constantly be wearing her big heavy work boots. Inside her bag was her jumpsuit, boots, another pair of shorts, socks, under garments, and a shirt.

She quickly walked over to the wall. If this was going to be done, it had to be done quickly. She placed her hand on the wall, fitting it into a chip.

Slowly and carefully, but surely, she managed to climb up the wall, towards the window. What troubled her was the way down. It was only when she reached the window did she realize that she was already on the grass.

They had kept her in the **basement**. That's why the walls were cement, and it had smelt so bad down there. She was below sea level, technically. Like a rat

_I am a_ _rat__ compared to them _she thought.

When she stood up, the whole world spun upside down, and she stumbled to the ground, regretting eating so little. She felt her stomach churn again, but this time, she took a deep breath in. It felt good, the air _smelt_ good. Fresh oxygen.

She stood back up, hitching the back pack higher. She was out, now all she had to do was stay out. And find her way to civilization. As she rounded the corner of the building, she saw the road her and Barricade came down when she first arrived.

She wanted to cry, but held it down. She wasn't out just yet.

The road she started walking on was gravel, she could feel each and every pebble on the sole of her foot.

Just as she was about to turn down the road, around the ben, she looked back at her jail, taking in the number on the building.

_1476 Holland Road_

And with that, she left.

* * *

"Why haven't we found anything?" Lennox slammed the wheel, a frustrated growl following

"Major Lennox, a scouting mission does not always guarantee success. Many times you will go back empty handed" Optimus responded. He felt bad for the humans. They weren't used to scouting missions. They were used to going in and going back, being able to tell the government good news.

"It's getting really dark, do we head back or find a motel and stay there for the night?" One of the soldiers in Bee's car asked, what sounded like a yawn following.

"No, we'll start heading back. We should get back early tomorrow morning if we head now" Lennox rubbed his face, yawning as well

"Yeah, about that" another soldier followed through "We're lost"

"WHAT?!" Lennox and Epps yelled at the same time. Ironhide jerked, straightening up on the road

"Sorry 'Hide. We-were you falling asleep"

Nobody said anything and Ironhide started drifting to the side of the road again

"Hide!" Lennox exclaimed, hitting his wheel lightly

"Sorry" he grumbled.

"Alright, everybody keep driving, we'll try and get satellite connection and get out Sat-Nav's back up and running" Optimus said, quickly shutting his com. link back off.

Lennox growled and Epps sighed, rubbing his face, before covering his mouth so he could yawn.

"I swear, if Ellie doesn't get rescued soon, Imma punch somebody" Epps said, turning and facing the window "I'm taking a nap" he announced, tucking his arm under his head and resting it against the window.

* * *

Ellie's feet dragged against the cement of the road as the sun came up. She knew Starscream would be up soon, and would probably send a search party out for her. She didn't want to go back, because she feared that if she did, Starscream would stay true to his word, and this time, they probably hurt her.

Ahead of her, was a highway. She'd found it pretty quickly after getting out. There were two yellow lines in the middle, the paint chipped, but not gone. The pavement was dark black and cold, een with the tid-bit of sun she was getting. The land around her was open, probably unused corn fields, or wheat. Either way, she could see for miles. The wind had been cold all night, and forced Ellie to change into her long sleeve pajama top she sneaked.

But now, she couldn't change into her short sleeve, and the wind was gone, she was getting hot.

_Great_ she thought _I'm going to get sick from all this hot and cold_

She quickly pulled her phone out, hitting the power button and waiting for it to online. The screen quickly popped up, and she entered the pin number, praying the battery was still good

78%. Not bad, it could be better, but that's what she had, so that's what she took.

Ellie normally wasn't to pray or thank God for anything, but she almost did when she came up to a gas station. She ran as fast as she could, and tried opening the doors. They were closed. Instead, she rounded the building, finding an open bathroom. Inside the bathroom, she changed into her spare set of clothes, quickly zipping up her bag. She finally got to pee on a toilet, then left. She had to keep moving.

It was maybe an hour later, you could finally see the sun, but it wasn't all the way up, more like a sunrise. She was ready to just fall on the side of the road and fall asleep, wake up, puke and fall asleep again, when she heard engines behind her. She looked back, pleading it not to be Barricade or Sideways, but, to her relief, it wasn't. It was a bunch of GMC cars, and trucks, and emergency Hummer, a big rig and a bunch of military vehicles.

She looked back to the road as they passed her, but then she snapped

That was N.E.S.T's vehicles!

She wanted to look up, yell at them, but didn;t. She couldn't looked up; she didn't have enough energy, but she heard tires squealing. A door opened and _slammed_ shut

"Ellie!" somebody roared. She looked up, her eyes barely slits now. She was having a hard time keeping them open. Lennox ran up to her and she fell into his arms, wrapping her arms around his waist and squeezing him tightly.

She felt a tingle run through her, but was to tired to care

"Ratchet, what's wro-"

"She's dehydrated and lacked in sleep. Her temperature's too high, it doesn't look like she's had a proper meal in 2 weeks"

"Slagging Cons"

"What do we do?"

"We're heading to base. Put her in my alt, I'll put the Air Conditioner on. I have the biggest seat, She'll be able to fall asleep and lay down" a deep voice reached her ears. She felt herself being picked up and open her eyes.

Whoever was carrying her, was carrying her towards the big rig. The Peterbilt. A flashback of seeing him get tossed aside and her being picked up by Barricade ran through her mind and she took a sharp breath

"No." she mumbled, struggling against the hold, trying to get away from the truck. He failed to keep her once, he could it again, especially if Barricade came for her.

"Relax Ellie" Epps whispered, placing her on the leather seat. She laid down and heard the door close. She flipped over, tossing and turning. She felt sick, hungry and hot" She wanted to get outside, into the cold, she didn't want to be in the **truck**.

The vibration of the seat told her that they had started moving again, and she felt herself being lulled to sleep. She was always a sucker for falling asleep on car rides.

She flipped one more time, onto her stomach, the cold air of the A/C making her whisper/moan, before she fell asleep.

Optimus looked back ocasionally, seeing her laying on her stomach, one arm hanging off the seat and barely tracing the floor of the cabin, the other next to her head in an 'L' shape. She wasn't drooling or snoring, like some of the men at the base did, she was just... asleep. Her face was calm, her eyes closed. Her back was going up and down from her steady breathing, and Optimus could see her eyes moving behind her eyelids as she slept.

She looked much younger and much more... _vulnerable_ when she was asleep, peaceful. He felt a wave of guilt of not being able to protect her from the Decepticons wash over himself, and sighed, focusing back on the road. They weren't back just yet. But they were close, and the Decepticons weren't around. Ellie was safe, and everything was okay.

It hadn't taken much longer until they arrived at the base. Ellie hadn't stirred the whole ride, and Optimus found himself reflecting on the feel of her. They way she'd snuggle closer to the seats, or take deep breath and release it in a sigh. He was surprised at small she was. Yeah, she was small and he was able to tell that from the day she signed with them, but now that she was actually **lying **on him, he was really surprised.

He'd activated his holoform and picked her up, exiting his alt. mode, carrying her in his arms. She snuggled into his chest, her left hand reaching up to grab his shirt in her fist, shoving her nose into his chest too, taking a deep breath in. In his opinion, she was extremely light weight. She was small, and looking at her he could tell she hadn't become underweight with the 'Cons, but she was still small. Her eyes were flicking back in forth in her eyelids anymore, but he found her hot to touch, and felt better knowing he had turned the A/C on for her.

He passed her onto Lennox, watching as his face softened. She held onto Optimus' shirt for a second, a small, unconscious whine coming from her mouth, but she quickly released it and snuggled into Lennox instead, causing him and Lennox to chuckle. Lennox brought her to the Soldier's room, followed by Epps, and turned the corner, loosing Optimus. He watched them round the corner before he de-activated his holoform and drove to his spot, falling quickly into a recharge, the feeling of her fist on his chest still lingering slightly.

Sideswipe was already sleeping in his corner, as was Ratchet. Ironhide grumbled, rolling over to his spot and stopping. Optimus turned the engine on, the rumbling growl echoing off the walls as he rolled over to his spot. He heard another whine come from the Soldiers' room and laughed as he saw Epps slapping a male on top of the head with a pillow.

* * *

**Awww! Isn't Ellie cute when shes asleep? I love it! Hope you did too, good day!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hello guys! Here's a follow up, I'd love it if you could review, it would really help me :) Thank you guys, please Favorite, Follow and Review! You guys are great!**

**Disclaimer: I only own Ellie, her ponies and the rest of my OCs, I don't own anybody you see in the movies and/or cartoons**

* * *

Most soldiers had gotten up later that day, but Ellie remained asleep in the soldier's room. Lennox and Epps had checked up on her frequently. She slept through, what should've been, dinner that night, and was still asleep by the end of the day

"She's not dead, right Ratchet?" Sideswipe asked.

Ratchet glared at him, his optics flicking between Sideswipe himself and the scanner in his hand.

"No, Sideswipe, she is not **dead**. She's lacked in sleep. I suspect she didn't have much sleep while Decepticon captivity" he spat out the word 'Decepticon' "But, much to my surprise, they did manage to give her **some** sort of nutrition. Sort of" he said, tilting his head

"Sort of? What do you mean 'sort of'?" Lennox asked, looking up at the medical Autobot.

"I mean, I have no doubt that they've given her liquid, maybe liquid flavor, but I highly doubt she's anything _solid_ for the extent of her stay there" he said, looking down at the Major "She may be hungry when she wakes up"

Epps nodded "I'll head out out and buy her something solid" he said

"Vegetarian" Lennox yelled, causing Epps to laugh when he remembered the first time he bought her food, turned and nodded at Lennox then hopped into a military an and left the base.

Ratchet nodded "Her temperature has declined, she shows no signs that needs immediate attention, she hasn't lost much weight from the looks of it, so I believe she's fine. I don't doubt that she'll sleep, more then likely until tomorrow, before her body wakes her up" and with that he transformed down to his emergency Hummer and drove off, probably to his med bay.

Sideswipe was still sleeping in his corner despite that it was early next morning, Ironhide was in his corner, holoform activated so he was with Lennox. Optimus was in his corner, but Lennox knew he wasn't sleeping. He was thinking stuff through. That's what made him a good Prime.

"Hey Optimus" he muttered as he passed him

"Major Lennox" was the only response he got, before Optimus went back into his thoughts.

"Miss Payton, please sit down" It was when he heard this, did Lennox snap his head towards the source. Sure enough, Ellie had woken up and was looking around the hangar. He strode over to her.

"Ellie you ok?" he asked, grabbing her elbow as she stumbled. She looked up at him through thin eye lids, clearly still tired, but awake

"What happened? How'd I get out? Starscream said I- Barricade promised- I mean, what _happened?_" she emphasized the last word, rubbing her eyes from any sleepies that were left. Lennox chuckled as she yawned

Ellie was really confused. She had woken up in a random room, in her clothes, under an actual blanket, and when she walked out, people were trying to get her to go back to sleep. When they finally_ did _leave her alone, Lennox was next to her

"What did Barricade promise? a deep voice asked. Ellie's head snapped up, so fast she couldn't see for a nano second. A man, probably her age, maybe a few years older, definitely taller, stared at her, stared down at her. His eyes were a vibrant blue, he ware a blue shirt with red long sleeves and blue jeans, accompanied by boots similar to hers

She looked at him and narrowed her eyes

"You're a holoform, aren't you?" she asked. She wasn't going to say **anything** until everything was cleared up. He, whoever he was, was clearly shocked, because he jerked his head back

"How do you know about holoforms?" he asked

"Are you, or are you not, a holoform?" she asked, not changing the subject.

"Yes" he said bluntly "My name is Op-"

"Optimus Prime" **she **cut **him** off "You're the Peterbilt. The Topkick is Ironhide, Corvette's Sideswipe, Camaro's Bumblebee, and" she stopped for a second to look around "The emergency Hummer is Ratchet, but I guess he's not around" she shrugged, turning back to the Optimus holoform.

His face remained the same, though he was shocked "Correct. What did Barricade promise?" he repeated **his** question. She looked up at him, and shuddered a little before her eyes averted to the floor.

She spoke quietly, the volume of her voice almost becoming a whisper

"He promised that if I got out, he'd come for me. He said he knew where I lived, he wouldn't hesitate to go back. He promised he wouldn't be as gentle the next time he-" she cut herself off with a sob, and Lennox wrapped his arms around her.

"Alright, it's ok. We're going to send you home with a guardian, alright?" he asked. Ellie didn't do anything, she just stood there

_You're going to send me home with another robot... great_ she thought as she pulled out of the hug.

"Ironhide" Lennox called as Epps walked up to his shoulder. Ironhide transformed up and looked at him. Ellie flinched, like she was getting ready to be picked up. Lennox and Epps didn't notice it, but Optimus and Ironhide did "Will you take Ellie home, b-"

"Not him" Ellie cut him off quickly. Granteed he was an Autobot, but Barricade hald told her about how mean he was. She wasn't taking that chance

"Ellie, it's either him or Optimus, they're the only two who have come in contact with your horses" Ellie looked up at him, towards Ironhide, then towards the Peterbilt, finally stopping at Optimus' holoform

_Damn_ she thought

Lennox saw her, almost like she was having a crisis go on in her head.

And she was! Either go home in a 'bot, who wasn't able to keep her safe once, or go home in a 'bot who may not keep her safe **period**.

Slowly, without saying anything, she walked towards the Peterbilt, passed his holoform and stopped at the passenger's side door. She looked up at Lennox, who nodded

"Alright" Optimus' holoform buzzed out and Ellie widened her eyes, looking back at the door. She was about to jump onto the railing and pull the door open, but it swung open instead. She swallowed thickly, and grabbed the door handle on the inside, placing a foot on the railing and, with every ounce of 'jump' in her, shot herself into the seat. She was able to grab a cushion, a grunt coming out of her throat, but she was small, so it was hard for her to get in completely. She felt someone grab her underarms and pull her in the cab. When whoever it was finished, she was sitting on the seat.

She furrowed her brow, and looked to her left. Optimus' holoform sat there, taking her face in.

She took his face in too. He had the blue eyes they all seemed to have, and a discreet amount of brow hair lined his jaw line an chin, but you could very barely see them. He had high, strong cheek bones, a gorgeous nose, and his hair wasn't long, but it wasn't short, the perfect length.

"Ellie" Lennox called from the window. She scootched over and peered out "Cyri's really missed you. He's barely eaten, and he doesn't come to the gate anymore, when you call them" Ellie's face sorrowed and she nodded, thinking of what he had to go through while she was away, and Epps passed her a white paper bad, food inside it.

She scootched back to the middle, crossing over to the driver's side where Optimus clicked the seat belt over her chest. The truck tarted up and Ellie drew her legs to her chest as they started moving.

The whole ride there, nobody said anything. The silence wasn't _uncomfortable_, but it was definitely not comfortable. Ellie kept her eyes averted to the window, watching the scenery zoom by. It had reached about noon when Optimus turned down her road. She shifted anxiously in her seat; home was close.

"Are you alright?" Optimus asked as he kept driving.

"I'm fine" she replied, sitting up straighter as he turned down her drive way.

Optimus felt her hand reach the door and she rolled the window down, sticking her head out.

"Cyri!" she called, bringing her head back inside the cabin. Optimus wanted to tell her he wouldn't come; he was grieving, and hadn't com up to greet them at the fence in 15 days, but stopped himself. Just as they were, maybe, 15 feet from the house, a neigh, a scream came from the back and Ellie's face lit up.

Sure enough, the big dun Hanoverian came galloping around the corner, head high, tail raised. He caught sight of the little woman hanging her head out Optimus' window, smiling wide and screamed again, and turned around, running away from the house as Optimus stopped. Ellie hopped out, opening the door faster then Optimus could and jumped out, standing right next to the truck.

Optimus activated his holoform and stood next to her, watching as Cyri stopped in the middle of the field. He snorted, pawed the ground then charged. Ellie smiled, watching him. Optimus figured he'd slow down when he got closer to the fence, but he sped up, throwing himself over the fence. He landed on the other side, skidding to a stop and 'rearing'. Ellie's eyes teared up an she ran towards him.

When she reached him, she flung her arms around his neck, standing on her tippy toes to reach him. Cyri dropped his head and rested it on her back.

Optimus watched as she turned her face in to his neck, seeing a tear run down her face. She let go and took a step back to look at Cyri's face. A sound, a nicker, came from the back of his throat and he looked at her with sad, big brown eyes.

"Hi" she whispered, laughing as he rubbed his own head against her shoulder. She grabbed a little of his mane and walked him over to the fence, opening it this time. He trotted through, running to the back of the house as the others ran up. They all snorted and Ellie laughed.

Optimus cracked a smile as she covered the front of her face, the one horse designated 'Wally' began sniffing her hair. She giggled, a cute little giggle, and motioned for Optimus to follow

"It's alright, I'll let you get settled" he said respectfully. She snorted, skipped over and grabbed his hand, trying to pull him along. He let himself be pulled along as she walked up the stairs. She tried opening the door, but it was locked

"Sergeant Epps locked it a few days ago" Optimus informed and she nodded, walking over to the rocking chair, picking up a western riding boot...? She reached inside and pulled out a key, small and silver.

She walked over, smiling when the door clicked open. She tossed the key and it landed in the boot again, before she grabbed Optimus' hand again and opened the door, walking in. She closed it behind him and walked into the living room. he stood in the door frame. Everything looked like it had the day she left before...

She shook her head and motioned towards the couch "You can sit down, I'll be right down" she walked up the stairs and into her room.

Optimus took her up on her offer, settling on the couch. It was surprisingly more comfortable then expected. He could hear her rattling around in her room for clothes, then a door slammed, bringing his attention to the balcony. She walked out, and sat on the railing of the stairs.

He couldn't help but laugh as she slid down the railing, landing on the floor. She waved a 'come' to him and skipped into the kitchen. He stood up and followed. When he entered the kitchen he saw her kneeling on the counter, in an attempt to reach something. She stood up, grabbing whatever she needed and keeled back down, jumping off the counter. She landed, closed the cupboard and brought the thing, a little bottle, over to the island in the middle. Optimus sat down on a chair, as did she, and she pulled out the meal Epps bought for her.

She opened it, cringing. It was Eggs, Hash brown and Bacon. She picked up the bacon, bringing it over to the trash can. The lid closed and she sat back down at the island, picking up the hash brown, and taking a nibble. She took a deep breath in and took another bite. She placed it on the counter

"Gross" she finished "McDonald's" she muttered, putting the food in the trash.

"What's wrong with McDonald's?" Optimus asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"It's unhealthy, expensive, and specializes in meat products. I'm not a big fan. I'll make myself something" she said, pulling out a carton of eggs. She placed them on the counter next to the stove as Cyri came trotting up to the glass.

Ellie smiled, opened the window and kissed his muzzle. He snorted and looked at Optimus. Ellie glanced at Optimus, seeing him tense up. She giggled a little and picked up a pan, putting oil on it and turning the oven on 6. She cracked an egg, brown shell, and placed the inside on the oven. It simmered and the clear stuff started whitening out.

When it finished, she made another one. When both were cooked, she placed them on a plate, putting toast on 'light' in the toaster and waited. When it pooped, she buttered them and sat at the island, pulling a fork out.

"Where'd that utensil come from?" he asked, causing her to giggle, but he couldn't fins the humor in his question. She jumped off the chair, walking around to his spot and reached under the edge. She grabbed a handle an pulled the drawer open. It contained 2 forks, 2 spoons, 2 knives, one sharp, one not, and a few napkins

"They're there just in case" she said, closing the drawer and rounding the island again. She sat on the chair, taking some eggs whites and placing them in her mouth. She finished her 'lunch' and placed the plate in the sink. Once she washed her spot off, she sat on her stool, directly opposite of Optimus' spot, place her head in her hands, and stared at him. He looked back, neither of them saying anything

"Can I look at you engine?" she asked suddenly. He jerked his head back "I mean, I know what you guys are now-"

"Autobots" he cut her off

"Yeah, and the Decepticons. Since I know that, can I look at your engine?" she stared at her, like her question was that important. He sighed and she smiled at him, after a second he nodded, getting off his stool.

She squealed, like a little child on Christmas morning, and jumped off, bouncing outside. He followed, finding her clicking the black witch on the side of the hood, pushing it up. The hood opened towards him and she walked up to him. She grabbed a stool off the porch and walked back towards the truck, he followed. She dropped it on the ground, now able to actually _see_ the engine and bent over the side. He watched her from the opposite side, as her eyes scanned the machinery

"Impressive" she mumbled " You see that?" she asked, pointing to the thing on the side of it. He nodded and looked back up at her. She smiled at him "That means you're engine is a six cylinder. Right her" she looked back down at the engine "Is a six-cylinder Cummins ISX15 engine. You've got approximately four hundred to six hundred horsepower under you hood. that's... impressive" she said, reaching out and tightening something She shivered, feeling the after effect "Sorry" she mumbled "Very impressive indeed"

She looked around, tightening somethings, admiring others, for about 15 minutes before she stepped off her stool and slowly closed the hood.

"Thanks" she said, closing the latches. She patted his hood before walking inside "You can come in again, if you want" she offered, then disappeared into the house

* * *

Ellie had a hard time staying a sleep that night. She fell asleep easily, especially since it was in her **own **bed. But a fair amount of times during the night she'd woken up, once in tears, but only once.

When she woke up in the morning, at 6:30, she couldn't go back to sleep, so she changed into a pair of sweatpants, a tank top and some black socks. She slid downstairs, grabbing a carrot and an apple form the fridge, taking a bite into the apple for herself, keeping the carrot for the whichever horse she would be riding.

Optimus was over to the side of the drive way, either sleeping or _really_ quiet. She placed on her riding boots, one at a time, snapping on her helmet, knocking on it three times, and looking for someone to, who obviously hadn't slept much either, was laying down, not quite awake yet.

Melody walked up to Ellie, smelling her hand, extending her nose for the carrot. Ellie smiled, breaking the carrot in half, feeding her one half. Ellie rushed to the porch, switching her boots into long english paddock boots, tucking her pants in the boot. She picked up the saddle pad, saddle, an english bridle, putting them on the top rail of the fence.

She pulled out Melody, tying her to the fence. Once the mare was cleaned and tacked up, Ellie brought her into the paddock, jumping onto the saddle.

Optimus had waken up earlier, and saw Ellie getting on one of her horses, before walking off. He activated his holoform, watching her ride around the field for a good hour. Eventually, she slowed down the horse to a walk. Optimus deactivated his holoform as she stopped the mare, jumping off and bringing her out of the field, taking care of her horse, giving her some water before releasing her to the field again.

"Are you awake?" she asked, looking at Optimus' truck.

"Indeed. Are you ready to head to base?" he asked, turning the engine on when she nodded

"Give me a sec" she muttered, grabbing her keys and phone, picking up her jump suit, now clean and smelling better, an wiggled it on, lacing up her big work boots. She tucked the boot under the pant and slipped her keys and phone into her pocket, locking and shutting the door.

She walked over to the passenger's side door, opening it manually. She stepped up onto the step, jumping onto the seat. She sat up, scooching into the driver's seat. The seat belt crossed over her chest and 'clicked' shut.

"You didn't have to open the door, I could have for you" he said as he drove off the drive way.

"S'Okay, I don't mind. I'm used to opening the door for my myself" she said, looking out the window.

They remained silent, neither talking. Optimus enjoyed **this** silence, it was comfortable, for both Optimus and Ellie.

When Optimus reached the base, and Ellie sat up more, un-clicking the seat belt. When he came to his spot in the base, she jumped out, skipping over to her boss

"Hey Lennox" she smiled. He turned around, frowning

"Ellie, you're supposed to be relaxing, not at work" he said. She smiled and shrugged

"I like work" and with that she sipped over to Sideswipe

"You're Sideswipe, right?" she asked

"Mhmm" he hummed

"Can I look at your engine?" she asked, like it was nothing. She heard him chuckle before his hood popped up a little.

She smiled, placed her hands under them and lifted the hood. She placed stationary rod against the top of the hood, to hold it up. She leaned down, placing her hands on the edge of the car.

Inside the hood was a small block, double pump, fuel injected 396 cu in. V8 engine.

"Very impressive" she mumbled more to herself then anyone else, and nodded, closing the hood again "Thanks" she said, kissing the Corvette sign. The engine rumbled and he chuckled

"Anytime, sweet cheeks" he purred, as she rolled her eyes. She walked past the Topkick, swallowing a little too thickly, past Ratchet and up to Epps and Lennox again

"What can I do?" she asked. Lennox motioned to a new car

"This is Jolt, the new comer. He is a medic, trains under Ratchet. Why don't you gie him a sweep, tell us what you think" Lennox offered. She walked up the the dark blue Chevy Volt, chuckling at the resemblance in name.

Some plates of metal, like the hood, and the trunk, seemed swollen, more then the other's but his paint wasn't chipped

"Did he just get here?" she asked, Lennox nodding a 'yes' to her "Hello" she greeted, patting the hood "He's good, there's swelling, but I think he's ok. I don't really know, I'm not a medic, I'm a _mechanic_" she emphasized "The metal itself is in good condition, there's no need for being fixed or anything, he doesn't look like he's in bad condition" she summed up "Jolt" she bowed a greeting to him

"Salutations, I am un-aware of your designation"

"Designation? You mean name? My name is Ellie" she smiled to the headlights. "Is there, like military Jeeps, or something I need to fix?" she asked to Lennox, who nodded and pointed to a door, a room which held Jeeps, probably torn up and stuff

"Thanks" she smiled "See you around, Jolt" and with that she picked up her tools and walked into the room, closing the door and Lennox heard the door lock, chuckling when he figured that she wanted to be left alone; she wanted to work.

"Well, welcome Jolt" Lennox welcomed as he drove over to a new spot, transforming up and bowing in front of Optimus.

* * *

**Alright, please review, I would love it, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hello lovelies! Here is Chapter 10, ten chapters and I couldn't have done it without your love of this story!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any Autobots, Decepticons or humans that you see in the movies, only Ellie, her family, horses and anybody you normally wouldn't see in the movies**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Within the month Ellie had calmed down. She fell asleep and didn't wake up twice. Optimus had gone home as her guardian repeatedly, to the point where some of the newer human soldiers started knowing him as 'the mechanic's guardian', not the leader of the Autonomic Robotic Organisms room the Planet Cybertron.

Sideswipe had chuckled when he saw Ellie sticking her head out of the window, smiling as they entered the base one day.

But, since the first day Optimus had been her guardian, he had never seen her upset. She always smiled, even when her hormones came alive and told him she was upset. But today, it was Saturday, around noon, and Ellie hadn't even exited the house yet.

He wasn't concerned, he barely knew her, but it was Saturday. She hadn't come out of the house to even visit or ride the horses. Lennox and Epps had started stopping with the horse lessons, the little kids weren't interested in riding anymore. But that wasn't what was bothering Ellie, she knew that horses weren't for everybody.

Optimus was actually 'stumped', as humans say. He couldn't tell what was bothering her, and he wanted to now.

Ellie hadn't left her house yet. One reason, one reason only.

She hated her period. Five days of pains, aches, hormones and blood... Ugh! One minute she was hungry, the next she wasn't. She felt like she always drank to much water, and **always** felt tired, until she tried to go to sleep, then she wanted to go outside and do stuff.

She currently sat on her couch in the living room, every time she felt hungry, nibbling on one cookies she just made, when she had an idea.

She brought the cookies into the kitchen, slipped them into the cookie jar in the middle of the island, then walking to the front door.

She was wearing blue shorts and a red wife beater, white ankle socks and when she got to the door, she slipped on her black Nikes. She tied up the laces, grabbing her keys and locking th door, closing it as she got out.

"Ellie? Are you alright?" Optimus asked her, to which she didn't respond. She opened the door, flinging herself into the cabin.

She buckled herself up, then turned the key in the ignition, down shifting. His tires crunched over the gravel and rocks, tonnes of rubber and steel.

"Ellie, are you alright?" he asked again, feeling a little odd at the fact that she had just started driving him, no questions asked

"I'm fine" she muttered "we're going for a drive,there's something I want to try" she finished, shifting gears again. They made it to a big road, and Ellie waited until someone let them in. She waved a thanks to them, then turned the wheel.

The engine rumbled and she watched the road "Ellie, are you certain you're alright?" he asked

"Yes, Optimus, I'm fine" she grumbled, flicking on the blinker.

"Then why are you giving off high levels of agitation?" he questioned, not believing her completely

"Have you ever heard of a menstruation cycle?" she asked, starting to get a tad bit irritated.

"Captain Lennox and Sergeant Epps refer to them as 'periods', but yes I've heard of them."

"Yeah, well, I'm experiencing mine right now. Going through my period, I get agitated and angry extremely easily." she stated, turning his alt. mode down another road, this one not as busy

"I was told women experience pains during there cycles"

"Well, yes. Some women, but it's different in every women. Like me, I change from any emotion to anger or irritation easily, but I don't get cramps. I always feel... uncomfortable in my clothing choice, no matter what I wear, and can't eat big meals." she stated, turning down a drive way

"Well, my apologies" he rumbled

"For what? I'm the one who's a women, you didn't have anything to do with it. It isn't your fault my body does what it does" she shrugged as she pulled the truck to a stop

"Where are we?" he questioned, taking in the scenery from his headlights. An old house, with a chipped black railing around the porch, overlooked a large asphalt area. The asphalt was dark black and looked brand new. One side was empty, but the other side had trucks and trailers scattered everywhere.

"Somewhere. Now activate your holoform, I need your help." she said, opening the door

"With what?" he asked.

"Something. Now come on" she slammed the door closed and walked to the grill.

He was **so** confused. But, despite his confusion, he activated the holographic version of himself, and opened the door, sliding out of his alt. mode, just as someone came out of the house.

He was pudgy and overweight. His stomach stuck out, his shirt had no sleeves and his jeans were ripped at the knees and dirty. He had a lit cigar in his mouth, but he took it out to hold between his index and middle finger. He looked like, what humans often referred to as, a 'hick' or a 'hilly billy'.

None the less, once he trudged down the stairs, he smiled and laughed, a beer in his other hand "Ellie! I've been wonderin' when you'd come back" he smiled. Optimus stopped next to her at the grill and the unknown mane took a step closer.

Out of the corner of his eye, Optimus saw Ellie tense up, and she grabbed his hand, interlocking their fingers. He wanted to ask her why, but she spoke before he could

"I've missed ya too, Billy. How's Marisse? Any better?" she questioned. 'Billy' took a step closer, and Ellie tightened her grip on Optimus' hand.

""I'm afraid nothings working the way I want to. She's still bed ridden" he shrugged.

"Well I'm sorry to hear that. Anyways, this is Optimus" she raise their interlocked hand, then dropped it, before continuing "And this is his beast. 575 horsepower just sleeping inside a 6 cylinder ISX" she smirked, patting the hood.

Billy's eyes lit up, and he took an inhale of his cigar, blew it out, then looked at Ellie

"ISX?" he asked, raising an eyebrow

"15" she smirked again "Property... of Optimus" she smiled, looking at the small, chubby guys in front of them.

Billy took one step closer, and looked up at Optimus' face. Ellie tightened her grip again, and pulled him backwards, their back making contact with his grill

"Listen, **Bill** we didn't come for fights. We came because I wanted to see what the beast's got running for him. Now, are you going to help us hook up a trailer or not?" she questioned, taking a step closer, leaving Optimus behind for a fight.

"Yound Lady, you know how I feel about you bringing men here. I don't know this guy, what happens if you're in the truck one second and the next-"

"God, Billy. He's my guardian! Something happened at work, and he was appointed to watch over me in case it happens again. He and I have been socializing for close to a month" she got a little closer to Billy and finally spat out "Now are you going to help me hook up a trailer, or not?"

Billy and her had a stare off, before he headed towards the Tractor trailers. Ellie nodded and walked towards Optimus' alt. mode. His holoform followed her, hopping into the passenger seat.

Ellie turned the key and the engine started up. She steered the truck to follow Billy, pushing the pedal down slightly.

"What was that?" Optimus questioned, looking down at her face. She sighed, running a hand over her head.

"Billy is a friend of my Dad's. He tends to get ... antsy, when I bring guys here. The last time I brought my last boyfriend, relationship partner, here, Billy punched him out. Billy doesn't really like it when people who are muscular and tall come here. That's why I grabbed your hand." she explained "I knew if I didn't he would've probably punched you. I could see his eyes glistening." she finished, pulling his alt. mode up to a stop.

Billy stood next to a trailer hitch, and helped give Ellie directions on where to back up. While Billy hitched up the trailer to Optimus; , Optimus himself took the opportunity to ask questions

"What is this?" he asked. She smiled and looked up at him

"This is Jackknifing. On the road, it's extremely dangerous and can cause deaths. But if you do it in a controlled environment where the driver, that's me, knows what they're doing, it's awesome." she smiled, excitement running through her

"You see, Billy is going to finish hitching up the trailer, then we can start. The empty lot over there is coated in three layers of lubrication... of sorts. I'm gonna take you" she patted the wheel "And we're going to drive as fast as I feel we should go. Once we hit, probably 90 mph, I'm going to turn you, and hit the brakes at the same time. The trailer, which will be hitched up and ready to rock, is going to come out, and circle us. It's going to make an acute angle, before we stop. But in order to do that, **you** cannot break. Alright? Just trust me, I've done this before"

Billy knocked on the window, and motioned for her to go. She nodded, and shifted gears, then pushed on the pedal.

Optimus found it kind of weird, he was lugging along this huge thing, that was hitched up to him.

Ellie reached the end of the lot, and put Optimus in neutral... literally. Billy gave her the go, and she hit the pedal, shifting up to first.

They reached the last shift, and Ellie hit the breaks. She turned the wheel, and the trailer started turning.

Optimus watched as the trailer he was currently lugging around, swung out and slid across the pavement. They reached a stop and Ellie laughed a little

"That's Jackknifing!" she exclaimed, slowly pulling the alt. mode out of it's angle and drove over to Billy, who was laughing and smiling.

* * *

They spent 30 minutes Jackknifing, then Ellie showed him how to Bobtailing. Optimus took a liking to Bobtailing more, only because he wasn't having to pull a trailer around. They probably spent another 30 minutes doing that too. Optimus even got to try Jackknifing and Bobtailing himself, controlling the wheel, and alone in the cabin, Ellie had been standing with Billy.

Ellie paid for their time there, and then they left. Optimus wound up driving, and Ellie sat in the passenger seat, her legs spread out on the bench. They drove around for a bit, both Optimus and Ellie enjoying the silence.

As they were passing a Wal-Mart, Ellie sighed and shook her head "Holland Road" she muttered, looking over at him

"What?" he asked. What had she just told him?

"Look, I- I don't know why I'm telling you this, I don't even want to be thinking about it, but when I got out, I took the address with me. I don't know the town, but I know it was Holland Road, just off of a major highway. Starscream chose some abandoned site, with the address 1476 Holland Road. That's what I saw when I got out." she finished, looking at him.

His head snapped towards her, their eyes locking on each other

"You're sure?"

"Positive. I wasn't going to say anything, but I figured it would help you guys. As far as I know, the ones that are big, like ranking wise, are Starscream, Barricade, and I think I heard Barricade mention someone named Sideways. The others, well they're not really important, they just kind of... hang in the background. I only saw Starscream twice, and Barricade. He'd give me food and clothing. That's it"

He listened, nodding.

"Thank you, Elizabeth" when he said this, it was her turn to snap her head towards him

"Don't call me Elizabeth, I'm not Elizabeth. My name is Ellie" she said, glaring at him. He chuckled, looking at her softly.

"What's wrong with Elizabeth? It's a nice name" he complimented. She rolled her eyes, looking out the window

"My mother is Elizabeth. People call her Beth, but she introduces herself as Elizabeth. I am Ellie. I introduce myself as Ellie, people call me Ellie. I'm Ellie." she finished, only to hear him laugh

"So what about you? _Optimus Prime_? Why are you named that?" she asked, sitting up.

"I wasn't always Optimus Prime. That name came with the title of 'Prime'. Before I became Prime, I was Orion Pax." he said, turning down Ellie's road

"Orion Pax?" she questioned. He nodded, glancing at her from the corner os his eye "You know here on _Earth_ Orion is a Greek God. Orion 'the greek Hunter'. And Pax. I took latin in High School, Pax is Latin for Peace." she stated, then laughed "Peace Hunter, very fitting for a man of such" she pretended to bow in front of him.

He chuckled as he turned down her drive way, and watched as she smiled.

The seat belt undid itself, untangling from her waist, and to his surprise, she climbed into his lap. She sat on his legs, and stuck her head out the window, whistling. A neigh resounded from the back, and Melody came charging around the corner, followed by Titan. Wally went trotting around, lifting his tail high, and Luna and Athena kind of stumbled along; clearly they had just finished napping. Cyri walked around behind the tired ladies, making sure they didn't fall.

She grinned, brought her head in the cabin. The window rolled up, and Ellie scootched over to the passenger door. When he pulled up, she hopped out, and fell to the ground.

She skipped around to the front, only to find her mother and father, waiting on the door step.

"Mom? Dad? What are you guys doing here?" she asked, walking up to hug them. Beth smiled and hugged her daughter, but Tony didn't. Instead, he eyed the 6 foot 5 man that hopped out of the truck with Ellie.

"Ellie... who is this?" he asked. Ellie rolled her yes, grabbing his moustache and pulling on it a little.

"This is Optimus. He's my guardian, something went down at work and he was chosen to come home with me, just in case." she smiled, grabbing his hand and pulling him closer towards them

"Chosen by who?" Tony asked, to which Ellie just smiled at him.

"Me." she laughed when he narrowed his eyes at her. Optimus smiled at her Mom and bowed

"Optimus Prime, sir, ma'am. I've heard much about you two from Ellie" he greeted, extending his hand to shake for Tony. Tony looked at him in the eye

"Oh, Anthony, shake the man's hand" his wife pushed his shoulder. He narrowed his eyes, but shoo Optimus' hand.

"You're Ellie's guardian?" he questioned

"Oh, for the love of it Dad! Yes, he comes home with me every night-"

"Even over weekends?"

"Yes even over weekends. He has a tendency to sleep in his truck's sleeping cabin, and yes Mom, I have offered him the spare room. He comes inside in the morning, makes sure everythings good, then we either head to work, or he stays and helps cleans stuff. We went bobtailing and jackknifing today, only because I'm-"

"On your period?" Tony guessed

"Yes, now stop finishing my sentences. What are you guys here for?" she questioned. Her Mom smiled when Optimus extended his hand to her

"Hello, young man" she smiled "I'm Elizabeth Payton the first"

"I'e heard much about you two from Ellie. And do not fret, Elizabeth is under the protection of both myself, and the U.S government's group of specialized trained military soldiers." he assured, bringing his hand down to his side, only to have Ellie slap him in the arm

"What did I say about the 'Elizabeth'?" she glared at him, then averting it to Tony when he laughed

"Well that's good to hear. Anyway, Ellie, your Grandmother's birthday is coming up, we were wondering if you wanted to car pool? You know save the enviro-"

"You guys don't want to drive, do you?" she asked, looking at her mother, who nodded "Alright, I'll pick you guys up" she ran a hand over her head, nodding

"Great! It was good to meet you, young man, thank you for your service" her Mom smiled up at Optimus, then hugged Ellie and walked over to their Toyota Corolla.

"Bye" Ellie mumbled.

Ellie hugged her Dad, then walked towards the house.

Tony stood there, watching Optimus, or his holoform anyway. He took a step closer, and was about to speak to him when he got cut off

"Dad! Leave, him, alone!" Ellie yelled from the porch "Optimus you can come in if you wish" she spoke lighter. He nodded, and looked back at Tony. Tony looked from his daughter to the man in front of him.

"Take care of her" he grumbled, before being cut off my Beth, who honked the horn "I'm coming! Sheesh" he yelled, mumbling a 'women' under his breath. Optimus walked up to the porch and waited as Ellie finished waving at her parents as they drove down the long driveway.

Ellie led him inside, and she walked into the living room, Optimus following. She sat on one side of the couch, he at on the other, and they watched the news.

A little while later, she started getting hungry, so she walked into the kitchen, made a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and took one bite, then felt full

_Stupid frickin period!_ she yelled in her head, placing the sandwich in a container for later. She returned to Optimus on the couch; he was watching the news still.

"You can change the channel" she said, sitting on her spot on the couch, and he nodded. He picked up the remote, and gave it to her. She looked at him, confused. He looked back at her and shrugged

"I don't know how to use this" he stated. She smiled, laughed a little at the predicament and slid closer to him. Her shoulder touch his and he looked at the side of her face. Her face was gentle and informative.

She showed him how to change the channel, which button to hit when he wanted the 'Guide', the list of movies that was currently playing, and the 'On Demand' button. She handed it to him, and he hit the Guide button. A list of what was on popped onto the screen

"What is this, Fast and Furious?" he asked, looking at her. She had gone into the kitchen and gotten a bowl of cherries. She would save her sandwich for dinner.

"It's a movie about street racers. I like it, watch it if you want" she said, putting a cherry in her mouth. He turned his gaze to the screen and hit the 'OK' button when the tab lit up. The screen changed all of the sudden, and they ere watching a bald man, probably in his late 30s, working on a black, sleek car.

By the end of the movie, Ellie had her feet over Optimus' lap, relaxing, and Optimus had one arm hanging off the back of the couch.

* * *

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